Many Black wine professionals have expressed sharing a common experience: Coming into a world where not a lot of people look like them. Professional organizations by and for Black people not only provide necessary resources like education, networking and a way to discuss business opportunities, they also create connection, community and a way to nurture people, not just their talents.

These 10 organizations work from different angles to foster a better industry.

Association of African American Vintners (AAAV)

Founded in 2002 by Mac McDonald of California-based Vision Cellars, this nonprofit organization promotes access to viticultural and enological information and opportunity to Black wine professionals as well as provide a sense of community through support, promotion and cooperation. All individuals who work within the wine industry, as well as consumers interested in supporting members of the organization, are welcome to the group, which also produces an annual symposium that promotes education, tasting, professional development and networking opportunities for attendees.

Black Bourbon Society

While this organization is known for consumer events, it also does education and advocacy work behind the scenes. Founder Samara Rivers founded the organization not just to connect people who love this spirit, but to work with brands and facilitate partnerships so that Black people see themselves in the whiskey world.

Black Food Folks

Colleen Vincent and Clay Williams co-founded this group to connect Black professionals in all corners of food, drinks and hospitality. In addition to networking, Black Food Folks hosts webinars, digital talks and events.

Black Girls Drink

Marketing strategist Omolola Olateju started this project to uplift Black women working in positions ranging from winemakers to bartenders, as well as consumers. She uses her platform to amplify their voices and disrupt traditional narratives around who likes to drink what.

Causing a Stir

Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 honoree Alexis Brown founded this organization for the sole purpose of seeing more faces like hers making quality cocktails. Causing A Stir’s educational program goes beyond teaching people how to mix drinks, to look at the historic erasure of people of color in hospitality, with more than 3,000 students so far tuning in.

Diversity in Wine & Spirits

Veteran restaurant professional Lia Jones co-founded this organization with Elan Glasser to create a more inclusive hospitality industry. It provides career guidance, grants and scholarships, educational panels and events, and also consults with companies on issues relating to diversity and inclusion.

Hue Society

A former sommelier, Tahiirah Habibi founded The Hue Society as a hub for Black wine professionals. The network allows people to connect to each other and, crucially, a larger community for support, development, resources and opportunities.

Radical Xchange

Radical intersectionality is the core of this creative content agency founded by Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 honoree Ashtin Berry and Kisira Hill. Its annual conference, Resistance Served, explores Black contributions to food and beverage, and previous participants have included Michael Twitty, Therese Nelson, Carla Hall and Omar Tate, among many others.

Urban Wine Collective

While plans for its first in-person activation this year were sidelined due to the pandemic, this group founded by three Atlanta-based wine professionals continues to use its social platforms to create a community for other wine and spirits educators to network and support each other. A pivot to virtual tastings and informational events will also further their initiatives, which also includes educating Black millennials about wine.

Urban Connoisseurs

With the mission to drive growth of the Black vintner community across the globe, Urban Connoisseurs works closely with vintners, growers and producers to foster high standards and promote best social practices to support the Black wine community, including scholarship donations, mentorship and internship opportunities. The establishment of the John June Lewis, Sr. Scholarship Fund, in partnership with United Negro College Fund (UNCF), solely supports Black applicants who seek to pursue careers in the wine industry.

Wine Enthusiast is committed to showcasing the incredible, diverse talents in our industry who are helping to positively evolve and broaden the wine, spirits and beer landscape for all of us. This growth and evolution of the space is part of what makes being a wine lover today so exciting. We’ll continue to highlight more personalities, stories and perspectives that point to that positive change and result in more great pours on your table.

The Black community is indispensable to America’s food and drinks culture. Unfortunately, systemic discrimination has added layers of hurdles to business ownership in hospitality and all fields. Support for those businesses is integral to any efforts for equity in our industry.

To help interested consumers channel their spending power to Black-owned businesses in the food and drinks space, we’ve aggregated a list of resources being compiled by individuals and communities across the country. While hardly exhaustive, we hope we can use our platform to help amplify the visibility of these businesses to Wine Enthusiast readers, as well as highlight the tireless work being done by others to compile these resources.

Food Education Fund: A New York City-based nonprofit that offers job training and a paid internship program to culinary public high school students.

The Okra Project: “The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them.”

Below are lists and spreadsheets of Black-owned restaurants and bars specific to U.S. cities and organized by the following regions: Northeast, South/Southeast, Midwest, Northwest, West/Southwest (If you don’t see your city here, check one of the above lists or search #blackownedrestaurants on Instagram).

Chetiyawardana recommends a fruit-forward red wine to provide backbone for this vermouth.

“Wormwood is the key component,” says Chetiyawardana. “Unless you have some in the garden or in the spice cupboard, seek something else out as a bittering agent. Citrus or baking spices might be a good option.”

Try this vermouth in a Negroni or Manhattan. Or sip it by itself over ice, mixed with tonic and garnished with an orange wedge.

A winemaker is tied to their ability to predict and understand obscure climatic tics. The analysis of weird winds, funky fogs and other esoteric ephemera generally remain confined to the fringes of the wine world, but some terms manage to enter the lexicon of normal wine-loving humans.

One such concept is diurnal temperature variation, known colloquially as “diurnal shift” or “diurnal swing.” This means the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures in one day. While many wine lovers know that big swings generally translate into fresh, lively bottlings, few know how it happens, or where crisp, electric wines are most frequently produced.

Extreme diurnal shifts often happen in high-elevation regions with midday heat spikes, which fosters sugar development in grapes through photosynthesis. Cool nights slow down, or even halt, grape and vine maturation. This preserves aromas and natural acidity, both of which translate into freshness.

During the high growing season, grapes in these regions gorge themselves on the sun’s fuel during the day, then collapse into slumber at night.

“The range in temperature drives a balanced flavor development,” says Evan Goldstein, MS, and president of wine education platform Full Circle Wine Solutions. “By balancing out the heat spikes that jack up sugar levels and drive down acid, with cooler nights where the sugar development is slowed and acid is preserved, the physiological development of the grape is more moderate and balanced, and leads to livelier flavors.”

He says that poor soils found on mountains make grape vines work harder and produce more complex flavors. Vineyards that are above the fog line are also exposed to fiercer sun rays.

How Temperature Affects Aroma and Acidity

Despite the plethora of data that winemakers gather on their climates and terroirs, there’s still an element of mystery to why certain varieties planted in particular regions taste so good. Is it the elevation in regions like Argentina’s Uco Valley, Spain’s Pyrenees mountains, parts of South Africa’s Western Cape and California’s Napa Valley, that allows peak phenolic ripeness without sacrificing the balance between sugar and acid? Or is it the diurnal shift that influences the ripening and phenolic-building process?

For many winemakers, the temperature swing tamps down the syrupy sweetness and flabby flavors sometimes found in wines made in hot places. It maintains freshness yet preserves the opulent bouquet of aromas.

In Northern Spain, the region of Cariñena produces complex whites with tropical characters. That’s thanks to the extra doses of glycerol and polyphenols teased out by, first, the warm climate, and then the diurnal shift of up to 50°F a day, according to Bodegas San Valero’s winemaking team.

Enate in Somontano, Spain, has a diurnal swing of close to 36°F during the growing season, thanks to its perch in the Pyrenees, 1,900 feet above sea level, with peaks of up to 9,800 feet in height. Estanis Dalmau, the agricultural engineer there, says the diurnal shift’s effect on grapes’ chemistry allows the producer to grow Central European varieties like Gewürztraminer that seem out of place in Spain.

“Thanks to the diurnal shift, quality parameters like malic acid content are very high in our grapes,” he says. “Freshness, fruity aromas and a low pH in our young white wines comes from that shift.”

Diurnal Shifts Coax Out a Wine’s Fruitiness

Other winemakers love to dissect a grape’s elements for an idea of why these wines are so aromatic and lush, yet dry.

In the Uco Valley of Argentina, diurnal swings of up to 55°F can occur during the high growing season. Franco Bastias, the chief agronomist at the region’s Domaine Bousquet, believes these shifts create fresh, fruity wines.

“This thermal amplitude helps produce a huge amount of photoassimilates [biological compounds] like sugar, polyphenols, tartaric and malic acids,” he says. “Then at night, those photoassimilates are consumed, which decreases the sugar and malic acid concentration.”

“Where does the electric acidity of our Sauvignon Blanc come from, when it clocks in at up to 14.5% [alcohol by volume], with a pH of 3.2 or lower and our acid at around 7.5 grams?” asks Matt Dees, winemaker at Jonata and The Hilt in California’s Santa Ynez Valley, pockets of which can have a diurnal shift of up to 70°F.

“I know the unique freshness can be attributed to the extreme swing,” he says. “And as the impact of climate change continues to be felt, we plan on taking advantage of the diurnal shift, but also plan to experiment with grapes like Assyrtiko, indigenous to Greece, which is used to essentially baking in an oven all day and still maintaining a pH of 3.1 with 9 grams of acid.”

The cooling effect of fog adds to a vineyard’s diurnal range/Getty

Diurnal Shifts Aren’t Everything

Robertson Valley, a subregion of the Western Cape in South Africa, rests between the Langeberg Mountain and Riviersonderend Mountains, where diurnal swings can reach up to 70°F during the high season. Winemaker Pieter Ferreira, who produces Méthode Cap Classique sparklers for Graham Beck, says that the diurnal shift in his region helps ensure “early, even budburst, flowering and development.”

However, he warns that extreme differences in cooler climates do the opposite.

Brad Greatrix, winemaker at Nyetimber in West Sussex, England, agrees. “The narrative around diurnal range is flipped on its head in regions like England, because we are a maritime, cool climate with relatively buffered temperatures,” he says. “We don’t have hot summers, and at its peak our maximum temperature is in the low 70s, and high diurnal ranges here would mean lower acidity.”

Winemaking is a delicate balance of art and science. Diurnal shifts are an essential part of the complicated equation, but not the sum total.

With added electrolytes to replace minerals lost while sweating, sports drinks have long sold themselves as the favorite recovery beverage of athletes. But select brewers now have something better to offer. They’re lacing beers with salt, potassium and nutrient-dense superfoods to create beverages that can be thought of as a reward and a source of replenishment.

“We wanted to make a beer for people to enjoy after a marathon, softball game or mowing the grass when it’s 110°F down here in the summertime,” says Chris Juergen, head brewer at Karbach Brewing Co. in Houston.

Last summer, Karbach released Game Changer, a low-alcohol pale ale containing sea salt and turmeric, which purportedly packs anti-inflammatory compounds.

There’s no singular approach to making these added-benefit beers, however, which range from stouts to pilsners and IPAs. Boulevard Brewing Co. took nearly a year to refine their version, a tangerine-scented blonde ale infused with potassium, sea salt and magnesium, while Dogfish Head Brewery enlisted help from the founder of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.

Whether it’s to kick back after a softball game or toast the end of a half-marathon, one thing is clear: These beers will electrolyte up your life.

Quencher

Fifty West Brewing Company

Inspired by its in-house marathon training program, Cincinnati’s Fifty West developed this “activated ale” with an enzyme that eliminates residual sugar. The result is light, dry and finished with watermelon, lime and electrolytes for a 100-calorie pick-me-up.

Rec. League

Harpoon Brewery

Harpoon took around 18 months to develop this hazy pale ale filled with fiber-rich chia seeds and B vitamin–packed buckwheat, as well as Mediterranean Sea salt for electrolytes. Big fragrances of pithy grapefruit and ripe mango make this a must for IPA fans.

FKT

Sufferfest Beer Company

“Will sweat for beer” is the motto of California’s Sufferfest, the athletic-minded brewery that Sierra Nevada bought last year. FKT (an acronym for Fastest Known Time) contains blackcurrants for tartness balanced by 96 milligrams of sodium per 12-ounce serving.

Race Pace

Zelus Beer Company

Named for the competitive Greek spirit, this Massachusetts brewery was created by a collective of amateur athletes. Race Pace packs all the hazy, fruity aromatics of a New England IPA into a low-alcohol package finished with sodium, calcium and potassium.

France dominates the conversation when it comes to rosé, but there is a plethora of domestic offerings worthy of seeking out. American rosés are the refreshing wines of summer that offer crisp acidity and fresh fruit flavors, enjoyable while enjoying a bright sunny day or a quiet night at home.

American winemakers have taken full advantage of the diversity of rosé, from impossibly delicate Pinot Noir offerings to richly flavored versions made from Sangiovese or Grenache. It’s a playful wine style from the cellar to the bottle, that inspires kooky labels and pop culture references. Yet, it can be produced in the most serious of ways from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Summer Water 2019 Rosé (Central Coast); $20, 92 points. A pale salmon-pink color in the glass, this widely available bottling of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah delivers a fantastic nose of melon, bubblegum and soft rose petals. It’s clean and chalky on the palate, with a light cantaloupe flavor and a surprisingly long finish. Editors’ Choice. —Matt Kettmann

Atlanta wine shop owner Steffini Bethea likes the bold tannins of Cabernets while her husband, Sheldon, prefers Malbecs. Since the novel coronavirus pandemic outbreak, the couple has been sharing more bottles at home, so they compromise by drinking red blends.

“I think that’s why the blends are selling, because people are able to share them easier—‘I’m taking home a bottle we will both like.’ I’m leaning toward this too because we’re together more,” says Bethea.

According to Nielsen data, Bethea and her customers aren’t the only ones. Off-premise sales of red blends shot up 35% from March to May 2020 compared to the same period last year. Orange wine sales grew 39%, while sparkling wines and Pinot Noir each saw a 25% uptick.

David Mayfield, owner of Wine Shoppe in Waco, TX, thinks lighter wines and low-alcohol sparklers probably make sense for those staying at home. “It seems like people are drinking more,” he says. “People might want to drink at lunch and maybe don’t want as heavy a wine.”

Customers at Dedalus Wine Shop, Market, & Wine Bar in Burlington, VT, are also buying more Champagne and sparkling wines, perhaps to “bring a little extra joy to the scene,” says owner Jason Zuliani. Sales of Champagne and other bubbles are up 18–20% this spring compared to 2019.

“There are empty bins all over the place,” he says of the shop’s diminishing bubbles supply.

Many wine-shop owners have noticed their customers seem increasingly interested in exploring new wine regions.

“It’s interesting to see people becoming more adventurous,” says Zuliani. “Maybe the same old, same old doesn’t hold your attention.”

Dedalus customers who previously stuck to Sancerre or Chablis are now willing to try minerally Corsican and Ligurian Vermentinos, to the extent that the store sells 15 to 20 cases of Corsican wines per week. This, compared to the three or four cases sold weekly the same time last year. Zuliani fears he might run out of Corsican wines in another month.

Of course, sales are also influenced by what the shop has been promoting during the pandemic. Zuliani believes that the bump in Corsican wine sales partially reflects the attention staff has devoted to the region on Instagram stories and Live experiences. Dedalus customers are tuning into more social media events, he says, perhaps because they can’t sit at the bar to talk wine.

New pricing and availability have also shifted purchasing patterns. At the Wine House in West Los Angeles, email newsletters that advertise 20–30% percent discounts on certain bottles have been sent to the retailer’s 60,000 subscribers, says co-owner Glen Knight. One of California’s largest independent wine stores, the shop procured bottles from wholesalers whose shipments were previously earmarked for now-shuttered restaurants and hotels.

In April, Wine House’s newsletter promoted bottles of 2018 Bucci Verdicchio Classico dei Castelli di Jesi for $18.99, a 27% discount from pre-pandemic pricing. The store has since sold 50 cases. It typically moves five to 10 cases of the Italian white per year, says Knight.

But he and other shop owners say wine sales are also being driven the old-fashioned way, by talking more to customers.

“Everyone wants to talk because they’ve been in the house,” says Bethea. Having more discussions means that a customer may try an Italian Falanghina instead of their usual go-to bottle.

“When customers come to the shop, they have an idea about what they want,” she says. “But now, we’re having a deeper conversation with them.”

Anteel Tequila

Black Momma Vodka

The line-up of vodkas from this company, helmed by CEO/President Vanessa Braxton (sister-in-law to singer/songwriter Toni Braxton), includes a number of tea-flavored varieties, including Green Tea, Sour Sop Tea and Chai Tea. She’s also behind the Black Momma Tea & Café franchise.

Brough Brothers Distillery

Owned by brothers Victor, Christian and Bryson Yarbrough, this newcomer to the West End neighborhood of Louisville, KY specializes in small-batch Bourbon.

Du Nord Craft Spirits

Owned by Chris Montana, also the president of the American Craft Spirits Association, this Minneapolis distillery offers a line-up of vodka, gin, whiskey, and apple and coffee liqueurs. Note: the distillery established a GoFundMe page to repair its warehouse, which was severely damaged during recent protests.

Fresh Bourbon

Lexington native Sean Edwards founded this Kentucky label in 2017 and recently announced plans to build a 34,000-square-foot distillery to make Bourbon and other whiskeys.

Loft + Bear

Revel Spirits

Avila is an agave spirit from Mexico that drinks a lot like Tequila. (We sampled the robust barrel-aged reposado expression.) Helmed by CEO/founder Micah McFarlane, actor and producer Justin Hartley last month joined as a partner.

Ten to One Rum

Previously Starbucks’ youngest VP, Trinidad-born Marc Farrell now helms Ten to One, which includes white and dark rum bottlings, each made with a blend of rums sourced from various Caribbean islands.

The structure of a wine is the relationship between its tannins and acidity, plus other components like glycerol and alcohol. It’s a complex concept that requires a pretty nuanced understanding of wine.

Why? Because unlike fruitiness or viscosity, perceptions rooted in flavor and texture, structure is relationship-based. You need a firm grasp of each component to understand how they play off each other.

“I generally look at tannins, alcohol and acidity as the corners of a triangle,” says David Jelinek, winemaker at Faust in Napa Valley. “They all directly affect how the others are perceived in the general shape of the wine.”

There’s no right or wrong way to scrutinize structure, but tannins are a useful starting point. Often described as grippy, tannins are bitter and astringent compounds that occur naturally in everything from coffee to cranberries and tree bark. In wine, tannins can help offset fruity sweetness and the heat of alcohol.

A well-structured wine will have an even balance of fruit, alcohol and tannic bite. It will also have enough acidity to make you crave another sip.

“Proper structure is a range, and the breadth of that range is subjective,” says Jelinek. “At the one end of the spectrum, the structure is not perceived, but the wine feels balanced. Unless you are looking for it, you probably don’t even notice the structure.”

Wines that lack structure taste overly acidic, tannic, boozy or saccharine. Depending on which component is out of balance, tasters might call these wines flabby, watery or one-note.

It’s also possible for wines to have too much structure. Such bottlings tend to taste overly firm and almost heavy, like an oversteeped mug of tea you left on the counter and then tried to drink the next day (no judgment).

“For me, the structure of a wine is its hardware, the physical structure that gives it shape or outline, much like the brickwork or walls of a house,” says Mary Gorman-McAdams, MW. “The flavors then are the furnishings—the rugs, wallpaper, curtains, the art on the walls—that fill it out and give it a unique personality.”

Structure also plays a leading role in a wine’s ageability. Wines with balanced structure have all of the elements to evolve in unison and with grace over time.

Stand at the top of Montecillo or Monte Rosso Vineyard as the wind whips, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the distant skyscrapers of San Francisco to the south, and there’s no mistaking that you’re far, far above the valley floor.

That’s why it was imperative the region that houses these vineyards have an identity of its own. In 2013, Moon Mountain District became an American Viticultural Area (AVA) distinct from the Sonoma Valley. Several marquee vineyards, and the people who farm and work with them, have just begun to make its impact clear.

Between the town of Kenwood and city of Sonoma, Moon Mountain starts around 400 feet above sea level and rises as high as 2,200 feet. It’s 17,663 acres, with just 1,500 of those planted to wine grapes. Above the fog, those vines benefit from coastal winds with long, warm days and cool, dry nights during the growing season.

Volcanic soils bring it all together. Curled up against one of the Napa Valley’s most desirable AVAs, Mount Veeder, where volcanic soils also rule, Moon Mountain is a confounding treasure of fine grapes. It grows predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, coveted by winemakers on both sides of the Mayacamas Mountains.

He says grapes from the region produce wines with “elegant bigness.” The tannins are supple and round, the acidity bright, the wines dark, inky and expressive of volcanic soils, able to achieve good phenolic ripeness at moderate alcohol levels. Ahead, the sites that define the AVA.

Hanzell Vineyards/Photo courtesy of Hanzell Vineyards

Hanzell Vineyards

A monopole on the southern edge of the appellation, at an average elevation of 800 feet, Hanzell was first planted to three acres of Chardonnay and three acres of Pinot Noir in 1953. Today, those plots are the oldest continuously producing vineyards in North America of each variety. The Hanzell clone of each are considered heritage clones, propagated elsewhere in California and Oregon.

The longest-serving winemaker for Hanzell, the late Bob Sessions, started his career across the mountain at Mayacamas Vineyards on Mount Veeder, where he worked alongside Robert Travers, a pioneer and the vineyard’s founder, until 1971. Sessions brought Hanzell to worldwide prominence with Pinot and Chardonnay, the two varieties for which it continues to be known, though they’re otherwise rare on Moon Mountain.

In 2016, Hanzell relaunched its Cabernet bottling, which it had produced from 1979–’92 before the vines were grafted to Pinot Noir. In 2012, it replanted two of those acres to Cabernet. The resulting 2016 vintage is intriguing, substantial in grace and structure.

Photo courtesy of Hanzell Vineyards

“The common thread of the Mayacamas is the volcanic nature of the soils,” says Jason Jardine, Hanzell’s president and director of winemaking. “There’s a volcanic theme throughout the wines, a true legitimacy because of the geology. The Mayacamas are a fascinating bridge between Sonoma and Napa. Moon Mountain captures that bridge.”

Michael McNeill and Lynda Hanson make the wines, while the vineyard manager, José Ramos, has been on property since 1975.

The Hanzell estate, with its 46 acres planted to vines, is implementing integrated biological farming practices under Jardine. Outside inputs are limited, and natural nutrient cycles encouraged. The goal is to farm Hanzell the way it would have been prior to chemical applications: no tillage, no compost, not too much leaf pulling. Ideally, the estate would be 100% self-sustained. Vegetable gardens and fruit orchards on the property help feed workers.

In 2017, chickens, sheep, heritage pigs and two Maremma livestock guard dogs, Scout and Radley, joined the team to work the vineyards in their own way.

Monte Rosso Vineyard/Photo courtesy of Monte Rosso Vineyard

Monte Rosso Vineyard

Ranch manager Brenae Royal and her Labrador retriever, Violet Mae, are the modern-day overseers of the vast expanse that is Monte Rosso, 575 acres (250 acres planted) set from 690 to 1,300 feet above the valley floor. Royal has been in charge of the site, where she also resides, since 2015.

Remote and complex, it’s hard to imagine the foresight and fortitude it took for Emmanuel Goldstein to plant 75 acres to wine grapes here in 1886 or for Louis M. Martini to see the value in the red volcanic soils when he bought the vineyard in 1938.

Much of the original 1886 vines, including Zinfandel and Sémillon, still exist. The latter might be the oldest such planting in the world. Martini, who already had a Napa Valley winery established in St. Helena, planted Cabernet Sauvignon in 1940, some of which also continues to bear fruit.

While 23 varieties have been grown in this vineyard over its history, Royal and her crew farm 10 today. Almost half of the planted area, 118 acres, is devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon. The challenging site is divided into 64 blocks and 105 sub-blocks because of its multitude of variations. Royal figures 60% of the site is sloped, with the remainder planted along a homogenous, relatively flat bench where volcanic debris settled, the red hill loam soil both porous and fertile.

“It’s the soil that brings Moon Mountain together, and the elevation,” she says. “The acidity, tannin and earthiness are its most pronounced signature. There’s ingrained complexity from Monte Rosso.”

Montecillo Vineyard/Photo courtesy of DuMol

Montecillo Vineyard

Kaarin and Mike Lee bought Montecillo in 2001 from a couple of gentlemen who had sold the grapes to Kenwood Vineyards. Mike, who died in 2011, was one of the founders of Kenwood and its winemaker for many years.

An old-vine, dry-farmed block of St. George rootstock Cabernet Sauvignon planted in 1968 had made up the backbone of the winery’s famed Artist Series Cabernet every year. When the Lees took over, they replanted the rest of the vineyard, block by block.

“I will never forget the day Mike came home and told me that Montecillo was for sale,” says Kaarin. “We were in the market for a vineyard after leaving Kenwood Vineyards. We wanted to stay in the wine business as growers. We thought we died and went to heaven because we were able to purchase what we always referred to as ‘the crown jewel.’ ”

Harvest at Montecillo Vineyard/Photo courtesy of DuMol

Facing west at up to 1,800 feet above sea level, Montecillo has cool mornings and hot afternoons, perfect growing conditions. The eroded soils are rocky and steeped in iron-rich red clay loam with a volcanic quality. The vines are at least 15 years old.

Chuy Ordaz farms the vineyard for Kaarin and her daughters, Britt Felix Lopez and Katherine Lee. The old vines have been organically farmed for four years, and the rest of the vineyard completed that transition last year. Much attention is paid to canopy management during the growing season.

Napa Valley-based winemaker Massimo Di Costanzo was able to buy three tons of Cabernet Sauvignon beginning in 2017.

“The wines are super distinct, they tell a story,” DiCostanzo says. “The volcanic soils, dry-farmed, planted in the 1960s, you don’t see a lot of Cab like that. There’s so much natural character.”

Nun’s Canyon Vineyard

The Hamel Family ranch is on the valley floor along Highway 12 in Glen Ellen. Six miles away, up a steep, bumpy road on the northernmost edge of the appellation, Nun’s Canyon Vineyard sits between 1,300 and 1,700 feet in elevation. The Hamels bought it from St. Francis Winery in 2013.

The site is steep and brimming in red clay loam soils, its underbelly a mixture of fractured basalt and gravel. The Hamels made their first Cabernet Sauvignon from here in 2013. They began to use biodynamic techniques and dry-farm the site in 2018.

John Hamel oversees winegrowing and winemaking here. With Chilean-born soil specialist Pedro Parra, who holds a Ph.D. in terroir from the Paris Center of Agriculture, Hamel is analyzing Nun’s Canyon’s microterroirs. They’ve identified eight variations, from shallow silty basalt to stony basalt. Their results are used to influence replanting decisions and blending in the cellar.

“The soils are all volcanic, but volatile,” says Hamel. “They can change on a dime. You can’t see the differences from the top and that makes it super difficult to farm. You can have six different soil types in one block.”

This gives him versatility, but logistical challenges. He conducts 50 different picks of the vineyard during harvest and vinifies those by soil type. The fractured basalt is broken, weathered and quite porous. In another corner of the vineyard are the oldest vines, planted in 1994. They sit in silty, sandy soils. Hamel finds their fruit much more intense and possessed of depth.

“The wines are stony and mineral, they have an elegance and are more complex than just concentrated in fruit,” he says. “You get delicate, fine wines.”

]]>How to Make the Perfect Shrimp Cocktail from Scratchhttps://www.winemag.com/recipe/shrimp-cocktail-sauce/
Sun, 31 May 2020 11:05:45 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?post_type=recipe&p=54535Photo by Morgan Ione Yeager

As personal chef to athlete Dwyane Wade and his superstar wife, actress Gabrielle Union, Richard Ingraham of ChefRLI, a private chef network, creates nutritious meals that never skimp on flavor. Here, he shares an easy way to revamp a familiar appetizer: Make it from scratch.

If you’re used to shrimp cocktail made from precooked shrimp and bottled sauce, this recipe will be a revelation.

The origins of the Pink Lady are generally unknown, and the ingredients have varied since its introduction around the turn of the 20th century. However, it’s considered a classic in the pantheon of egg-white cocktails. The vibrant color and foamy white head create an eye-catching drink, while its signature tartness and relative lack of sugar set it apart from other more well-known, pink-hued creations.

The creator is often said to be Elsie de Wolfe. In addition to being an actress and author, she’s cited as America’s first professional interior designer. De Wolfe earned renown for pioneering a movement that advocated for innovative, lighter design in response to the heavy Victorian styles of the time.

While it’s hard to know if de Wolfe’s creation is exactly what became the Pink Lady we know today, the drink’s refreshing profile certainly seems to fit the designer’s aesthetic.

Early recipes include some combination of gin and grenadine, while egg white seems to appear and vanish based on the author and tastes of the time. However, the addition of lemon juice and applejack (apple brandy) solidified this drink’s place in the history of cocktails.

The Pink Lady was maligned by many from 1930 through the ’60s. It was considered a “women’s” drink, not to be taken seriously by the predominantly male cocktail critics of the time.

Ironically, the ingredients are strikingly similar to revered drinks like the White Lady, invented primarily by bartending legend Harry McElhone of London’s Ciro Club and Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, as well as the Clover Club cocktail, created by a Philadelphia men’s club of the same name.

Regardless of trends and gender biases, the Pink Lady has persevered for more than a century. It remains an impeccable and tasty drink that combines tartness and body with a heady punch of alcohol. Here’s how to make one.

]]>How to Make Boozy Popsicles, According to Sciencehttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/29/frozen-boozy-popsicles-recipe-formula/
Fri, 29 May 2020 15:00:40 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54620Animation by Eric DeFreitas

If you try to freeze a cocktail to make boozy popsicles at home, you’re as likely to end up with a slushy mess than something that stays solid enough to eat. This is because ethanol (the type of alcohol we drink) has a much lower freezing temperature than water.

Water freezes at 32°F, while pure ethanol freezes around -173°F. The freezing point of most consumable liquor falls somewhere between this range, depending on its proof. That’s why you can safely keep 90-proof vodka in your freezer, but a bottle of rosé with 11% abv (alcohol by volume) will shatter if stored below 15°F.

Most home freezers are set for 0°F. This means, if you want your alcoholic beverage to freeze, you need to bring its alcohol-by-volume (abv) down to that sweet spot where the water in the bottle freezes and solidifies the alcohol along with it, rather than the two separating and turning into a slushie.

So how do you freeze liquor? Use cocktails in a 5:1 ratio

As a rule of thumb, you’ll have the best luck making boozy popsicles by aiming for a 5–10% final abv in your cocktail mix. This guide assumes your liquor falls in the 80–90 proof range (40–45% abv), which means you’ll want a 1:5 ratio of liquor to nonalcoholic mix.

This translates to 1 ounce of liquor to 5 ounces of juice in, say, a single 6-ounce vodka-cranberry pop. You can multiply this by the number of popsicle molds you want to fill, and their size.

Other factors like the sugar found in juices, syrups and liqueurs, or the citric acid in lemon and lime juice, can also lower a mixture’s freezing point. However, the difference is not nearly as drastic as the effect of alcohol.

Boozy popsicle recipes to try

Each of these recipes is measured in “parts” so you can make them in batches, and multiply based on the amount you want and the size of your popsicle molds. But feel free to treat each measurement as a fluid ounce, and multiply accordingly. Just mix all ingredients thoroughly, fill your molds and place in the freezer.

Elderflower Tall Popsicle

1 part cucumber vodka

1 part elderflower syrup

1 part lemon juice

4 parts apple juice

Margarita Popsicle

1 part Tequila

1 part lime juice

1 part orange juice, no pulp

1 part simple syrup

2 parts water

Rosé Pops

6 parts dry rosé

1 part lime juice

1 part simple syrup

Sauvignon Blanc Bellini Pops

5 parts Sauvignon Blanc

2 parts peach purée

1 part lime juice

Final note

Popsicles with more alcohol may still freeze, but they’re more likely to turn into a melted mess before you finish enjoying them since the temperature at which they convert back to a liquid is lower. For example, a frozen cocktail at 20% abv will turn back to a liquid when the temperature increases only 9 degrees, while a 5% cocktail will generally hold its shape until the temperature increases by 26 degrees, giving you much more time to eat it.

So, feel free to try upping the alcohol ratio for a boozier pop, but at the peril of whatever you’re wearing.

]]>The Top-Selling Wines on Drizly, and How We Rated Themhttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/29/best-selling-drizly-wine-ranked/
Fri, 29 May 2020 13:03:02 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54587Getty

The ease of buying alcohol online for home delivery has caused countless wine lovers to expand their tastes, selections and ordering habits. So, what is America drinking, and how do your favorite bottles stack up?

We looked at some of the best-selling wines on popular platform Drizly, which connects consumers to local wine shops offering online ordering, and compiled a list of how our panel of experts rated each bottle, as well as what you should taste for.

Kim Crawford 2019 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough); $18, 90 points. After a string of tough vintages that didn’t wear well on this famous brand’s Sauvignons, the latest release is back up to snuff. Heady notes of lime blossom, peach and gooseberry lead the pack, with subtle aromas of green bell pepper and dried herbs following, to remind you where you are in the Sauvignon Blanc world. In the mouth a creamy texture and fleshy fruit are freshened by lively acidity. Juicy lime on the finish makes it easy to take another sip, especially if a plate of sushi or spicy southeast Asian food is nearby. Constellation Brands, Inc. –Christina Pickard

Perrier Jouët NV Grand Brut (Champagne); $55, 90 points. With crisp acidity and layers of apple and citrus fruits, this attractive wine still has some of the higher dosage typical of this house. Together the fruits and the soft texture have produced a wine that is ready to drink. Pernod Ricard. –Roger Voss

Oyster Bay 2019 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough); $13, 88 points. Bright and fruity, this wine offers notes of passion fruit, citrus, white spice, ginger and grass. There seems to be a touch of residual sugar on the palate to balance the acidity and add texture to the fruit. Crisp, refreshing and citrusy, this checks all of the Marlborough SB boxes. Delegat USA, Inc. Best Buy. –C.P.

When Jon Kreidler, co-founder of Tattersall Distilling in Minneapolis, set out to make vodka, he wanted his organic corn-based spirit to be “as neutral as possible,” he says. But that didn’t mean he wanted it to be completely devoid of character.

“There’s a big difference between vodkas, if you taste them,” says Kreidler. “To claim that vodka is flavorless and tasteless is just silly.”

A new federal statute supports this perspective. On May 4, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced changes to labeling and advertising regulations for wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages. Among these was an update to the Standard of Identity for Vodka, which drops language that defined vodka as “without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.”

Among those that favored the definition change were distillers at Altitude Spirits in Boulder, Colorado.

“[It] is no longer appropriate given the variety in base ingredients, flavors and flavor profiles found in the diverse vodka category,” wrote Matthew Baris, Altitude Spirits’ chairman and cofounder, in response to a TTB post requesting comments.

Lance Winters, master distiller of St. George Spirits in Alameda, California, also replied that varying distillation techniques, proof, filtering and base ingredients lend “character and distinctiveness” to finished vodkas.

If all vodka tasted the same, “there would be no reason to produce them,” he wrote. “There would be no reason for a consumer to choose one over another, except for price.”

The TTB responded that “the requirement that vodka be without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color no longer reflects consumer expectations and should be eliminated.”

The agency now requires that vodka is distinguished and defined by its specific production standards: “Vodka may not be labeled as aged, and unlike other neutral spirits, it may contain limited amounts of sugar and citric acid.”

In other words, vodka will be defined by what it is, rather than what it’s not.

“I’m happy that’s changed,” says Ricky Miller III, CEO and cofounder of Carbonadi Vodka in Newport Beach, California. He calls the former classification “archaic” and says it complicated efforts to differentiate his vodka from others in a saturated market.

“Grumpy bartenders always fall back on saying vodka is ‘odorless and tasteless,’” says Miller. “But there are differences that seasoned palates pick up. [The new definition] makes room for personality and character, which is great.”

Of course, there’s still a place for vodkas that skew closer to the old notion of a super-neutral, nearly flavorless spirit.

Many bartenders and spirits producers consider Smirnoff, an American-made vodka, among the most neutral in aroma and flavor. (A previous Wine Enthusiast review arrived at a similar conclusion.) According to data from IWSR, Smirnoff was the No. 2 vodka brand in sales during 2019, behind Tito’s.

The TTB’s amended description also puts to rest the contentious idea of barrel-aged vodka. The new amendment states “vodka may not be aged or stored in wood barrels,” with the exception of paraffin-lined wood barrels, which would not transmit the characteristics of the wood.

Yet, going forward, consumers may be more willing to embrace a broader range of nuances among vodkas.

“I like to think people are figuring it out,” says Kreidler. “A corn-based vodka will have sweetness to it. It’s just inherent. Wheat-based vodka is going to be a little drier. Potato has a wonderful soft mouthfeel.”

If absolute neutrality is no longer the prevailing benchmark, Kreidler believes that some vodka producers will be willing to accentuate naturally occurring flavors.

Carbonadi’s Miller doesn’t plan to change how his vodka is made. But he views the new definition as permission to press harder on the message that not all vodkas drink alike.

“It supports our case for selling our vodka,” says Miller. “Now I’m not the crazy guy going out there and selling the vodka full of personality.”

Here are six vodkas that show the spirit’s range.

Black Cow Vodka; $33, 91 points. Distilled from whey, this vodka has a faintly earthy aroma and neutral, slightly sweet palate that finishes with a citrusy lilt. It’s more about texture than flavor: markedly plush and rounded, ideal for a head start on White Russians and other creamy cocktails.

Shelta Cavern Spirits Vodka; $30, 91 points. Made from malted barley and wheat, look for distinct fruity notes on nose and palate. It’s not the absolute neutrality some seek in vodka, but it’s still pleasant, light and soft with tinges of coconut and cinnamon heat into the finish.

Tom of Finland Vodka; $35, 91 points. Named for Touko Laaksonen, the Finnish artist and gay icon better known as Tom of Finland. Made from organic wheat and rye, this versatile vodka has a mild, slightly citrusy scent and a smooth, vanilla-tinged palate that finishes brisk, with peppy hints of lemon peel and white pepper.

South Fork Vodka; $19, 90 points. This small batch vodka distilled from corn has a distinctly sweet, marshmallow-like aroma. The palate also has a sugary tone, hinting at marshmallow and coconut, finishing brisk. Best Buy.

Source One Vodka; $34, 87 points. A single-estate vodka distilled from oats and cut with water from High Sierra snowmelt. Look for earthy, spicy, savory dried-herb notes on nose and palate, reading slightly vegetal. The finish is brisk and peppery, with a mouthwatering saline hint.

The Heart Distillery Vodka; $25, 87 points. Made from corn, this vodka has a faint but unmistakable anise note on nose and palate, reading almost like the mildest absinthe ever. It’s light and drying, with just a hint of sweetness and a citrusy finish that echoes that distinct anise note.

]]>Orange Wine is Trending for All the Right Reasonshttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/28/orange-wine/
Thu, 28 May 2020 13:00:53 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54568Getty

“It’s common to get wine-style-fatigue at the end of a season,” says Michael Kennedy, founder of Component Wine Company in Napa Valley. He’s also managing partner at Chandler Hill Vineyards in Defiance, Missouri. “I start tiring of my Bordeaux and Rhône reds by the time March rolls around, even though it is still quite chilly out. When I want a white [wine] with some guts to bridge me through, orange wine can do that job perfectly.”

Orange wines, also known as skin-contact wines and amber wines, are made from white grapes. They possess both the flavors of white varieties with the texture and tannins common to red wine. It’s the result after the grape skins are allowed to ferment with the pressed juice.

“The skins contribute color, body and an impression of some tannin that changes the wine’s texture, as well as changing the flavors of the wine from fresh, fruity notes to more complex, developed aromas and flavors such as nuts and dried fruits,” says Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW, president of the International Wine Center in New York City.

Fueled by changing trends, the age-old style is being revived by winemakers. Many sommeliers, who previously found skin-contact wines difficult to pair, now embrace their distinctive characteristics.

Historically, orange wines were simply referred to as “white wines made using grape skins,” says Ewing-Mulligan. The style remained popular in the countries of Georgia, Greece and Slovenia. The process was thought to result in less waste and greater shelf life.

“This style gave preservative properties to the wine through extraction of compounds from the skins, which allowed the wine to last longer,” says Ashley Guertin, certified sommelier and beverage director for the Barbara Lynch Collective in Boston.

Advances in technology during the 20th century saw a shift away from these wines. The crisp qualities of modern white wines overshadowed skin-contact offerings.

“In recent times, several producers in Friuli pioneered a return to this ancient way of making white wine,” says Ewing-Mulligan. “Besides fermenting the juice on the skins, they eschewed modern practices such as temperature control of the fermentation, the use of sulfur dioxide, and filtration.”

These hands-off methods align with the trend toward natural wines. As demand for natural wines increased, skin-contact bottlings regained a space in the market.

White grapes being crushed/Getty

“Many producers would characterize orange wines in that [natural wine] category,” says Ewing-Mulligan. “Wine drinkers who are keen to explore something different, wines with individuality, even to the point that others might consider flaws, are finding what they crave in orange wines.”

The intricacies of skin-contact wines both helped and hindered their mainstream appeal, something Kennedy experienced firsthand as head sommelier for chef Eric Ripert’s Blue at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.

“I found them difficult in pairings,” he says. “Texturally, they would beat up on [Ripert’s] delicate seafood.” Kennedy now says the style “can be so exotically perfumed and confusing to the palate, that I keep going back for more.”

He expects to release an orange wine in June, the Chandler Hill Vineyards 2019 Marigold Orange Estate Vignoles. “It was a bit of a risk, but the wine is super floral, tropical and zesty,” says Kennedy.

Guertin recommends that skin-contact white wines be served cool, not cold, to display their range of flavors.

“Many of these wines are made in a more noninterventionist style, which can include no filtration,” says Guertin. “The resulting wines can have some sediment [and] be cloudy. This is intentional and adds to the character of the wine. If it really bothers you, allow the wine to stand up for 24 hours and decant it, leaving the sediment behind.” She adds that it will also soften the wine.

Kennedy chooses either Donkey & Goat or Gravner Breg Anfora with crispy-skin chicken. “Like the kind you get at an amazing French bistro served in a cast-iron saucer with salty-savory chicken jus,” he says. “Not all pairings have to be exotic. In fact, the best ones are not.”

Kennedy says to approach orange wines with enthusiasm and an open mind.

“Don’t try to put orange wines into a box of what you know, expecting it to be white wine or rosé,” he says. “Doing this will hinder enjoyment. Allow it to be what it is, an aromatic, textural and genre-expanding wine that will take time to get to know.”

Surrounded by the tens of millions of fun-loving Californians from Los Angeles to San Diego, many Temecula Valley wineries historically emphasized tourism functions like bridal showers, vineyard weddings and on-site restaurants, hotels and spas, rather than what’s inside their bottles.

But a growing cadre of winemakers has been upgrading Temecula’s vinous profile through quality craftsmanship to compete with more established regions to the north. These producers dial in viticultural techniques, experiment with new cellar technologies and explore the area’s many microclimates. In particular, they’re delving into De Luz and La Cresta Hills to the west, which offer higher elevations, more varied geology and closer proximity to the cool coast than the often scorching valley floor.

Palumbo Family Vineyards and Winery

From Glories to Grapes

Nicholas Palumbo went from SoCal beach bum to bassist in a “three-piece, melodic, heavy post-grunge” band called the Morning Glories, which rocked New York City during the mid-1990s. Palumbo also worked in several kitchens and took culinary classes with plans to become a chef when he returned home to San Diego.

However, once back in California and commuting through Temecula, “I took a right turn, in life and literally, to check out the wineries.”

Two months later, in 1998, he bought seven acres of existing vineyard land. Though the fruit was initially contracted to the region’s pioneer, Callaway Vineyard & Winery, Palumbo became fascinated with farming. He opened his namesake winery in 2002.

“The vines, our home, the tasting room, the production—everything is here,” he says. Palumbo now farms just over a dozen acres around his property and converted a former avocado ranch in the De Luz hills into a Tannat, Syrah and Grenache vineyard, supervised by his stepson, Reed.

“I love the farming side,” says Reed. “I have no qualms about doing that all day, every day.”

Reed says that the emerging, coastally influenced area can be difficult due to weed control and mildew pressure. “The great part in having these challenges is that it goes to show how different the climate is up here,” he says.

Nicholas was one of the few to warn other wineries that a tourism-over-quality strategy may not be greatest long-term plan.

“I’ve been really adamant that everyone should make the best quality wine,” says Nicholas. “We’ve never modeled ourselves as a tourist destination. We take ourselves as a serious winery.”

And it’s finally paying off. “People in the industry used to taste with their minds, not with their mouths,” he says. “That was a struggle for a while. I think we’ve moved past that.”

Damian Doffo / Photo by Gabriel Nivera

Doffo Winery

Family Vines that Bind

In 1975, Marcelo Doffo chased a girl from Argentina to California, where he eventually settled in Santa Ana and built a successful career in the automotive body repair industry. But during a trip to Italy to visit relatives in 1994, Doffo watched his great uncle make wine in the basement and decided he might like to try the same.

He returned home and hit the ground running, soon creating batches of wine in his garage. By 1997, Doffo had won a home winemaking competition and purchased land in Temecula. Two years later, he started to plant vines.

But in 2003, Doffo nearly died from a heart attack. He attributed the incident to stress from his body shop business and began to focus more intensely on his vineyard instead, where he plays soothing classical music to his vines all day.

His only son, Damian Doffo, started helping with the winery when he was just a kid, washing bottles.

“I was cheap labor, so I’ve had to help make wine since I was a little boy,” says Damian, who now runs the operation with the help of his sisters, Brigitte Doffo-Cartaya and Samantha Doffo, as well as Assistant Winemaker Nadia Urquidez, originally from Baja California.

Today, the family owns and farms nearly 30 acres that includes plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah. The winery also sources from other vineyards, where the team gets involved with the viticulture.

“My dad grew up on a soybean farm, so farming is a big part of what we’re about,” says Damian. “We look at our vineyard like a 100-year investment.”

The family also loves vintage motorcycles, which has since spurred MotoDoffo, a brand that sells motorcycles, apparel and small-batch wine blends. “It’s a really weird crossover,” he says. “We’re in a niche, and we’re the only one. When we go to motorcycle shows, we’re like rock stars.”

Currently tinkering with a few niche experiments of his own, like a Viognier aged in concrete egg, Damian is appreciative of the groundwork his father laid. “I got dealt a pretty good hand,” he says. “I feel responsible to take it to the next level.”

Olivia Bue / Photo by Gabriel Nivera

Robert Renzoni Vineyards

Old Country Soul Meets New World Flavor

When former rock ’n’ roller and alcohol distributor Robert Renzoni opened his namesake winery in 2008, he carried on a family tradition that began with his great-grandfather, Federico, who worked in the vineyards of Fano, Italy, in the 1880s.

His opulent, Tuscan-villa-like property now features a popular Italian restaurant, beers on tap and plenty more tourist treats, but Renzoni’s commitment to wine quality has only intensified each year.

“Everything begins and centers on wine being number one,” says the winemaker, Olivia Bue.

An Encinitas-raised graduate of the University of California, Davis, Bue started at the winery in 2014. That came after jobs at Mollydooker Wines in Australia and Cakebread Cellars in Napa.

“There is no budget for making the best wine,” she says. “If there is something we need in the cellar, he will buy it.”

To keep his team abreast of trends and styles being pursued elsewhere, Renzoni takes them on tasting trips throughout California and in Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico. “It’s been great to get inspired together,” says Bue.

Like many of her neighbors, Bue makes more than two dozen annual bottlings from nearly 20 grapes. But the winery has experienced the most success with Italian varieties like Montepulciano, Sangiovese Grosso, Vermentino and Barbera, for which they’ve developed a longer-aging riserva program.

“We’re all in it together, figuring out what excels down here,” she says. “There is room for trial and error, and every year we’re doing experiments.”

The warm weather, dry conditions and the lingering specter of Pierce’s disease, which devastated the region in the late 1990s, can be challenging. Yet, Temecula’s main hurdle is to receive critical acclaim and attention from serious wine collectors.

“But as winemakers, we feel like we have it all in our hands,” says Bue. “There’s nothing holding us back.”

Joseph Wiens / Photo by Gabriel Nivera

Wiens Family Cellars

No Rules, Just Right

“We have a young winemaking team, and it’s a fun challenge for us to figure out how different varieties express themselves down here,” says Joseph Wiens, the second-generation winemaker at Wiens Family Cellars.

The winery produces about 60 bottlings from three dozen vineyards, many of them less than five acres. About 70% of the plots are on the roughly 2,000-foot-tall mountains of La Cresta and De Luz to the west, where the family planted vines in 2005.

“That’s the fun thing with Temecula,” he says. “There isn’t a set variety. We get to experiment and play around.”

Wiens works with everything from flagship Cabernet Sauvignon and tasting room-only Aglianico to Montepulciano and a growing list of crisp white wines like Vermentino. The experimentation also extends to the cellar, where Wiens, along with Assistant Winemaker Brian Marquez, Cellar Master Antwoine Moe and Production Manager Blake Miller, tries techniques like carbonic fermentation for a bright, red Rhône-style blend.

His father, Doug, had originally planted grapes in Lodi in 1996 but came south to be closer to relatives, and more customers, in the early 2000s, opening the winery to the public in 2006. At the time, Joseph was spending a couple of years at work in Northern California restaurants. The experience, which allowed him to taste some of the world’s great wines, would be critical in developing his palate.

“It was good for me to get away from that cellar blindness you can get from only working in one place,” says Wiens. In 2008, he moved to Temecula to take over the winemaking at the family business.

“When we first came down, there were only diamonds in the rough, but the winemakers are now providing a lot of healthy competition for each other,” he says. “We understand that if we all make better wine, it’s going to make Temecula more attractive to serious wine consumers.”

Jim Hart / Photo by Gabriel Nivera

Hart Family Winery

Old Dog, New Tricks

The oldest Temecula winery still run by its founders, Hart Family Winery remains one of the best. It all started back in 1973, when Joe Hart, a high school teacher, bought 12 acres and, a year later, began planting a variety of grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Sauvignon Blanc. More vines followed over the next decade, and the winery would officially open in 1980. It’s been a family affair ever since.

“My dad is 87, but he still comes to work every day,” says Jim Hart, who became head winemaker in 2008 after earning a post-graduate certificate in winemaking from University of California, Davis. His late brother, Bill, had helped Joe in the cellar, while his other brother, Mike, retired from the electronics industry in 2015 to become assistant winemaker.

Like quality vintners the world over, the Harts focus on the vines.

“We try to find interesting vineyards to work with and form solid relationships with people so that we can work with the same fruit year in and year out,” says Jim. “If you can get good fruit, you can make good wine.”

In addition to their range of estate wines, the Harts round out their more than 20 selections by sourcing from vineyards around the valley and mountains. Among this production is the winery’s Reserve Syrah and its Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Volcanic Ridge Vineyard, which sits at 2,400 feet above sea level.

“It’s really spectacular,” he says. “It’s got red volcanic soil, and it looks across Camp Pendleton to the ocean.”

He also sources Mission grapes that were planted sometime between 1882 and 1905 for a multivintage solera-style bottling called Angelica, as well as old-vine Zinfandel from a vineyard on the Pechanga Reservation that was planted in 1882; Jim believes Hart is the first winery since the 1930s to bottle the latter.

“It’s got some nice brambly fruit character and a really peppery finish,” he says. “I tried to make it like an early California style.”

]]>8 of Bordeaux’s Best Wines Under $30https://www.winemag.com/2020/05/27/8-best-affordable-bordeaux-wines/
Wed, 27 May 2020 16:00:53 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54544Getty

Many of the world’s most expensive wines come from France’s Bordeaux. Famously divided into the Left and Right Banks by the Gironde and Dordogne rivers, the region’s red wines are primarily made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, though Malbec and other varieties are allowed in the final blend.

But you don’t have to look towards the top shelf for high-quality Bordeaux offerings. In the Left Bank’s Médoc appellation, you can find the Cru Bourgeois, family estates that date to the Middle Ages. These families acquired great vineyards throughout the centuries and are now some of the most affordable Bordeaux labels. Here are eight of our top Cru Bourgeois bottles to seek out.

Château Côtes de Blaignan 2016 Cru Bourgeois (Médoc); $15, 91 points. The 30-acre estate, owned by the same family since the 19th century, is on one of the gravel outcrops that indicate quality in the Médoc. This wine has ripe berry fruits, rich tannins and a juicy, smoky character that makes it a classic. Drink from 2021. Best Buy. –Roger Voss

Château Fonréaud 2017 Cru Bourgeois (Listrac-Médoc); $29, 91 points. This estate is home of the Chanfreau family that owns several chateaus in Listrac and neighboring Moulis. While the wine does show its wood aging, it also brings out smooth black fruits and ripe tannins. It will develop into a richly structured wine that will age well. Drink from 2023. Editors’ Choice. –R.V.

Château La Fleur Peyrabon 2017 Cru Bourgeois (Pauillac); $29, 92 points. A 17-acre portion of the Peyrabon vineyard lies in Pauillac and is made into a separate wine. This latest release with 61% Cabernet Sauvignon is smooth, sumptuous with big tannins and black-currant flavors. With its concentration and great fruits, it will age well. Drink from 2023. Cellar Selection. –R.V.

Château Castera 2017 Cru Bourgeois (Médoc); $28, 90 points. This 155-acre estate dates back to the Middle Ages. Today, the modernization of the vineyard has resulted in an accessible wine that combines fine tannins and ripe black fruits. This wine has some of the freshness of the vintage although it does need to age. Drink from 2022. –R.V.

Château Maucamps 2017 Cru Bourgeois (Haut-Médoc); $27, 91 points. Situated in the village of Macau just south of Margaux, the 47-acre vineyard has produced this wood-aged wine that shows plenty of ripe fruits. A touch of licorice goes with juicy blackberry fruits and acidity to balance the wine. It has a good future and this wine should be ready from 2023. –R.V.

Even the surrounding wine country, officially known as the Santa Cruz Mountains, refuses convenient definition. It stretches through three counties, nearly all the way from San Francisco south to Salinas, straddling a wild, redwood-pocked ridgeline that includes both warm, inland slopes and cool, coastal faces.

When grown and crafted with proper care, wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains can compete with the best bottles in the world.

The region can be broken up into roughly three districts, each with its own character and beautiful natural surroundings. Get to know these areas—and the people who define them—without leaving home.

Photo courtesy of Beauregard Vineyards

The Mountains

The Beauregards are considered the royals of Santa Cruz wine because viticulturist Jim Beauregard planted so much of the appellation. His son, Ryan Beauregard, who runs Beauregard Vineyards, recently acquired Bald Mountain, a 32-acre Chardonnay vineyard that Jim planted on “moonrock” sandstone in 1990.

“Americans move around so much,” says Ryan, whose tasting room and winery is nearby in Bonny Doon. “It feels really good to be rooted.”

Dean McHenry, the founding chancellor of University of California, Santa Cruz, is another pioneer. He planted Pinot Noir in the 1970s, which his son, Henry McHenry, turned into McHenry Vineyard wines.

A statistician, Lokteff worked for ecommerce and credit card companies. In 2009, his winemaking hobby turned professional with the purchase of this property, which sits 1,800 feet above sea level. Over the last decade, he’s worked to dial in the vineyards, first planted in 1983.

Perched at the top of ladders, up a tree on top of a ridge that overlooks the Monterey Bay, Lago Lomita’s treehouse is the region’s most coveted Airbnb destination. It’s a frequent site for marriage proposals.

“I built this just to get away from my kids,” says Robin Porter with a laugh. She lives with her husband, Mark, in a 19th-century abode on the ground, a short walk away. Views include five vineyard blocks that surround a mountaintop rain pond. “Fog comes up to the front gate, so you get that cooling effect, but without the mildew pressure,” she says.

Tasting room at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard/Photo by Alyssa Twelker

The City

Santa Cruz’s urban winemaking scene is centered around Swift Street, on the city’s westernmost edge. That’s where Joe Miller turned his attention to commercial wine with Rexford Winery in 2008, after four decades of teaching astrophysics and wine appreciation at University of California, Santa Cruz.

With his son, Sam, Miller’s focus is to find good vineyards and encourage the owners to farm well. “I cultivate growers, not grapes,” says Joe.

Across the street is Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, run by Jeff Emery. After apprenticing for a quarter-century under Ken Burnap, who founded the business in the mid-1970s, Emery took the reins in 2004. He crafts single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Iberian-focused wines and more under the Quinta Cruz brand.

Barry Jackson has worked as a sparkling wine consultant for about 20 Central Coast producers as well as his own Equinox label.

“I succumbed to the romance knowing better all the while,” says Jackson, whose first grapes came in three days before the massive 1989 earthquake that rocked the Bay Area. He also makes Bartolo, a still-wine brand focused on Fiano and Merlot.

Venus Spirits/Photo courtesy of VSCC

After more than a decade in craft-beer brewing and work in organic foods, Sean Venus bought lambic stills from Spain to start Venus Spirits in 2014. He turned his attention to seasonal gins, agave spirits, barrel-rested aquavits and other liquors.

“The excitement of waiting for something in a barrel to ferment is exciting for me,” says Venus.

Downtown is booming with other interesting businesses, too. The grand-daddy is Soif, a longtime bottle shop and wine bar that’s grown to offer seasonal meals with locally farmed ingredients.

“Very few people have done what we do successfully for this long,” says manager Jon Bates. “We’ve never sold out.”

“We are a used bookstore that’s focused on the humanities and a full restaurant with seasonal fare and a natural wine bar,” says Sarah Shields, the general manager, wine expert and former Brooklyn, New York, resident. The focus is on low-intervention, small production wines.

“It’s meant to be a playful list. I never buy more than a case of wine at a time.”

Wood-fired cooking by French-inspired Atlanta cooks isn’t exactly the traditional Santa Cruz diet, but Chef Jeffrey Wall proved otherwise by opening Alderwood in December 2018. As the smell of smoke wafts past the large chef’s table, diners can watch the fast-moving, flame-licked kitchen for hours. “We want long hang outs, where people can sip on their cocktails and snack their way through dinner,” said manager Michael Falco.

“Rustic, seasonal Spanish food is our jam,” said Elan Emerson of her electric restaurant Barceloneta, which she and husband, Bret Emerson, opened in October 2019 after a decade of running Contigo in San Francisco. The cuisine and all-Spanish wine list, with plenty of Sherry and vermouth, won immediate fans, including legends like Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyards. “Santa Cruz is ready for new restaurants,” she said.

Bargetto Winery/Photo by Neil Simmons Photography

Points South

The small town of Soquel’s wine culture is powered by the Bargetto family. John Bargetto runs Bargetto Winery, whose winemaking and tasting facilities are in town. His cousin, Peter Bargetto, is the force behind Soquel Vineyards, set on a hilltop ranch originally purchased by their grandfather in 1919. Its tasting room boasts views for days.

Also in town, the aptly named Home restaurant occupies a former house on the edge of a residential neighborhood. There, Brad Briske serves Italian-influenced, nose-to-tail Californian cuisine, made with produce that’s grown in the backyard garden.

“It’s a really good mix of what was started in 1980 and what we’ve added along the way,” says Briske.

Tasting room at Ser Winery/Photo courtesy of Ser Winery

There are three tasting rooms in the nearby village of Aptos. Armitage Wines sources much of its Pinot Noir from the old Alfred Hitchcock estate above nearby Scotts Valley, where the famous director wrote The Birds in between tending to vines.

Ser Winery is run by Bonny Doon Vineyards veteran Nicole Walsh, who makes sparkling Riesling, dry Orange Muscat and peppery Cabernet Pfeffer from century-old vines. Lastly, Sante Arcangeli Family Wines is the show-case of John Benedetti, who cofounded Capitola’s beloved Sante Adarius Rustic Ales before he turned to single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Cantine Winepub is a wine/beer bar and small plates restaurant that was opened by Keiki and Jason McKay in 2014.

“We opened Cantine to create a comfortable place to hang out with family and friends where wine and beer is approachable and fun, not pretentious or complicated,” says Keiki.

Though Manresa’s chef-owner David Kinch has lived in Santa Cruz for 22 years, his first restaurant on this side of the mountains is Mentone, a colorful and casual concept focused on the cuisine of the Riviera, from Genoa to Nice. “No more gastronomic restaurants for me!” said Kinch, whose menu includes “simple” pizza and pasta as well as chickpea crepes, carbonated spritz slushies and an “unapologetically rich” cioppino. “It’s the definition of connoisseurship,” he explained of his dive into this cuisine. “The more you learn, the more you love it.”

A short drive away is Persephone, opened in October 2016 by the sister/brother team of Chef Cori Goudge-Ayer (formerly of Acquerello in San Francisco) and sommelier Alexander Potter, who oversees a 300-plus bottle list. Their grandparents own the building, dad’s love of wine inspired the kids and and mom’s art is all over the walls, but the food rises far above family fare: the parmesan budino pudding and truffle-topped tortiglioni are just a taste of the expertise.

A bit south toward Watsonville, you’ll find the legacy of Dan Lester, who died in 2014. His world travels are evidenced in the collection of animal heads, dugout canoes, nautical equipment and much more strewn throughout the Lester Estate Wines tasting room.

“We’re fulfilling his bucket list, which was to have a tasting room and winery on his property,” says Lester’s son-in-law Steve Johnson. They also host safari tours around the 210-acre property, which overlooks of the fog-shrouded Pleasant Valley to the redwood-ringed meadow, where deer are known to roam.

Nearby is the famed Corralitos Market & Sausage Company, where more than 30 styles of smoked and fresh links have been known to fill winemaker and cyclist bellies all day long.

Wine Enthusiast encourages readers to be safe and follow federal and local regulations as it pertains to travel and social engagement. We’ll continue to report on the coronavirus pandemic as it pertains to the world of wine, as well as offer stories and resources for your wine-travel needs for when it is clear to get back out and about.

Wine descriptions often come under fire for being fanciful. Can you really smell grass and grapefruit, rose petals and pepper in a wine?

The answer is yes, you can. Here’s the science behind it.

It’s all down to organic chemistry. Wine is made from grapes, and grapes draw on the same set of elements as all other fruits and plants. In unfermented grapes, most aroma molecules are bound up with sugar, so you cannot smell them. However, once fermentation turns sugar into alcohol, those volatile flavor compounds are set free and can be detected by our sense of smell.

Some aromas in wine come from the grape itself and are the same compounds that occur elsewhere in nature. A type of chemical compounds found in Riesling, called terpenes, are also in citrus peel.

Other aromas, like esters, are created by fermentation, while even more develop over time as wine’s constituents react with each other. Then there’s the influence of oak and winemaking practices, which can impart compounds that convey vanilla, caramel or coconut.

All these factors contribute to the complex array of aromas we get every time we smell wine. Our brains can decipher many of them, depending on our sensitivity and the concentration of the compounds.

Here’s a list of noteworthy compounds found in wine, and what common aromas and flavors you may not realize come from them.

Citrus, rose petals and eucalyptus / Illustration by Ryan McAmis

Terpenes

If you smell rose petals or citrus in your wine, it’s due to terpenes, which reside primarily in grape skins and are abundant elsewhere in nature: in blossoms, fruits and leaves of myriad plants.

Terpenes are a class of compound that make wines like Muscat and Gewürztraminer fragrant and give characteristic citrus flavours to Riesling. Here are some you will recognize.

Linalool: This terpene, in connection with others, causes the perception of lavender, orange blossom, lily and even bay leaves.

Geraniol: The compound behind the tell-tale smell of rose petals.

Nerol and citronellol: Both these compounds create the floral, citrusy scents that occur in numerous flowers and fruits, and wine.

Limonene and citral: These zesty flavors in wine are derived from the same compound found in citrus peel.

Hotrienol: The smell of linden blossom is also a constituent of that heady elderflower smell in Sauvignon Blanc.

1,8-cineole and alpha-pinene: If you regularly smell eucalyptus in Australian red wines, or the scent of garrigue scrubland in the red wines of Southern France, you’re not fantasizing. The compound 1,8-cineole gives eucalyptus trees their distinctive smell, while alpha-pinene is found in aromatic shrubs like juniper and rosemary. Both are airborne, highly volatile aroma compounds that can cling to the bloom on the skin of grapes.

Rotundone: Since red wines are fermented on their skins, highly aromatic and stable compounds can make it into the wine. As a sesquiterpene, rotundone is better known for the pungent aroma it gives peppercorns, particularly white pepper. If your Shiraz, Syrah or Grüner Veltliner gives you a whiff of a recently used pepper mill, you are smelling this compound.

Vanilla / Illustration by Ryan McAmis

Aldehydes

Hexanal and hexenal: These two aldehydes are responsible for scents of freshly cut grass and tomato leaf in Sauvignon Blanc.

Vanillin: Another famous aldehyde, this is the chief flavor of vanilla beans. In wine, it derives from fermenting or aging in oak barrels. American oak (Quercus alba) tends to have more vanillin than French oak (Quercus robur), so you’re not mistaken if that oaked California Zinfandel seems to particularly smell of vanilla.

Benzaldehyde: If you come across the scent of bitter almond or marzipan in aged Pinot Gris or some Italian white wines, you are smelling this compound.

Furfural: Reminiscent of dried wood, caramel and wheat bran, this chemical often occurs in oak-aged wines.

Green bell pepper / Illustration by Ryan McAmis

Pyrazines

Methoxypyrazines: Ever smelled green bell pepper in Cabernet Sauvignon or leafiness in Carmenère? What you’re sniffing are methoxypyrazines. These incredibly stable compounds form part of the varietal character of some grapes, especially those in the Sauvignon family.

Methoxypyrazines can also be a sign of underripeness in other grape varieties, where they present as an almost acrid herbaceousness. After all, green bell pepper is just the unripe version of red and yellow bell peppers.

Apple and banana notes / Illustration by Ryan McAmis

Esters

Esters are volatile flavor compounds created by reactions between alcohols and acids. Esters are responsible for primary fruit flavors we get in very young wine.

Isoamyl acetate and ethyl acetate: Very young, white wines often smell of pear-drop candy, or a mix of banana and pear flavor. This is the result of these two very common esters.

Octyl acetate: Expect aromas of oranges and citrus fruits.

Butyl acetate: This ester smells of Red Delicious apples.

Buttered popcorn and violets / Illustration by Ryan McAmis

Ketones and diketones

Beta-ionone: This compound creates the haunting scent of violets in Pinot Noir or Syrah.

Beta-damascenone: Floral aromas with an undertow of red fruit come from this ketone.

Diacetyl: The most obvious diketone, diacetyl smells like melted butter and can also come across as creaminess in wine. Diacetyl is a byproduct of malolactic fermentation where bacteria transforms sharp malic acid in wine into much softer lactic acid. That is why many Chardonnays smell buttery and creamy.

When Chardonnay that went through malolactic fermentation is aged in new American oak, which imparts vanilla and nutty aromas, it can easily be reminiscent of buttered popcorn.

Gooseberries and black currants / Illustration by Ryan McAmis

Mercaptans

These volatile sulfur compounds occur in grapes and are released by fermentation.

3MHA (3-mercaptohexyl acetate): Guava and gooseberry aromas as the result of fermentation are signatures of this compound.

4MMP (4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one): The leafy, fruity notes of blackcurrant, so often encountered in Cabernet Sauvignon, are the result of 4MMP.

Coconut notes tend to come from aging / Illustration by Ryan McAmis

Lactones

Sotolon: This lactone is formed in wines that have aged. Sotolon is associated with botrytised wines like Sauternes and long-aged wines like Madeira. Depending on its concentration, it can smell of curry spice, nuts, toast or maple syrup.

Octalactone: This compound comes from aging on oak, and smells of coconut.

Cloves and kerosene (also referred to as petrol, in wine) / Illustration by Ryan McAmis

Other common wine aroma compounds

The famous petrol or kerosene smell in mature Riesling is known as TDN (1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene—now you know why it’s abbreviated) and relates to sun-exposure in the grape skins. Phenols are derived from oak aging: guaiacol gives smoky, toasty and roasted aromas to wines while eugenol is responsible for spicy notes of clove.

Lauren Buzzeo 0:08
Hello and welcome to the Wine Enthusiast Podcast. you’re serving of wine trends and passionate people beyond the bottle. I’m Lauren Buzzeo, the managing editor here at Wine Enthusiast, and in this episode, we tap Contributing Editor Virginie Boone to guide us through the wonders of all things sparkling in California. Have you been turned on yet to the top-notch bubblies of Napa and Sonoma? Well, get ready to discover the region’s finest, as we talk with Napa native and wine-industry vet Paula Kornell about the history of California sparkling-wine production, and why the Napa/Sonoma region is home to some of the state’s best bubbling pours. We’ll also offer suggestions for bottles to seek out and try today. So special occasion or not, get ready to pop some corks with us on this journey into the world of California sparkling wine.

But first, a word from today’s sponsor for another bubbly treat: Barefoot Hard Seltzer. A hard seltzer that’s made with real wine? That’s right. Barefoot Hard Seltzer is here, brought to you by the nation’s most awarded wine brand. Barefoot Hard Seltzer packs delicious flavor into every can with three simple ingredients: sparkling water, natural fruit flavors and real wine. Plus, Barefoot Hard Seltzer is only 70 calories, two grams of sugar and gluten free. Find Barefoot Hard Seltzer in the hard seltzer aisle in a 12-can variety pack or four pack. Barefoot Hard Seltzer—wine glass optional.

Virginie Boone 1:48
Well, Paula, I just want to say thank you so much for joining me to talk about one of my favorite subjects, I know one of your favorite subjects, sparkling wine from California. Part of the reason I wanted to talk to you specifically, and we’ll get to many of the reasons, but the first one is because you really have a long history with sparkling wine because of your dad, Hanns Kornell. And so, I wanted you to give me a little bit of background. My understanding is at one point, he was the leading producer of sparkling wines in the Napa Valley. So give me a little bit of background about about his place in California.

Paula Kornell 2:25
Well, thank you very much for having me. I’m so glad to be having a conversation with you, my dear. My father was born and raised in Germany and went to University of Geisenheim in Germany and studied winemaking. His great grandparents and his far distant uncle all were in the German sekt business in Germany, so, German sekt being German sparkling wine. He worked with his family and unfortunately in the middle of working with his family and having a good time skiing, he was captured by the Nazis and put in Dachau for 18 months. So, his time being in the wine business in Germany was short lived, ended up getting, 24 hours to get out of Germany after being in Dachau for 18 months, went to London and then quickly came to the United States with this, you know, a sundry history of stories: that the ship that he was on was bombed, getting to New York, you know, you can’t write this stuff. It’s pretty amazing. But he came to the United States and actually went from New York, straight to the Midwest to Ohio and Missouri, because at that time, that’s where the lead—was one of the leading wine growing areas of the United States. So after being there for about a year, year and a half, is when he came to California, and started in Sonoma County and started making his own sparkling wine, which was then called Hanns Kornell, third-generation Champagne. And if any of you are familiar with Sonoma, which I know you are, it was located where the Safeway store is now in the town of Sonoma, which was where his winery was.

Virginie Boone 4:16
Wow, I mean, that, you do have to write a book or a movie script or something at some point, because, because that is quite a remarkable, you know, feat to one survive, to get to America to land, you know, anywhere where somebody might be making wine and then to come now, you know, what is considered one of the premier wine regions of the United States, Sonoma. But how could he have known all that? I mean, was this 1950s, 1940s?

Paula Kornell 4:47
Yeah, I think it was the 19, it was the late 1940s. So early 1950s is when he started his winery in Sonoma, which I think was ’52. And once he was in the United States, he started learning more about California and the California wine business and that this was the sort of the land of plenty. And that’s when he showed up in Sonoma County. He showed up with, I don’t know, I think it was some broken-down car with a horse trailer. Because if you knew my father, you also knew that his biggest love other than his family and his wines, it was his animals.

Virginie Boone 5:24
Well, that’s been passed down to you, I see. [laughter] Well, but it’s interesting. So, I mean, when he’s, he comes to Sonoma, and he starts this company, this wine operation, I mean, do you, what grapes was he working with at that point?

Paula Kornell 5:42
He was using Johannesburg Riesling, Chenin Blanc, wines that were, when I was growing up, it was called dry white wine. So it was a variety of many things. He started with Riesling because that was the grape that he was the most used to and also knew that it could be very dry that we have this thought here in the United States that anytime you see Johannesburg Riesling, or Riesling, you think of something sweet. Well, that’s unfortunately not the truth. And so, he had a wine, even then, that was their trope and it was bone, bone dry and being 100% Riesling, wow. My mother’s family had homesteaded. They were Swiss-Italian. They homesteaded in Napa Valley. And he met my mother who was singing with the San Francisco Symphony at the time. And actually, they met because my grandfather, my mother’s father, was looking for some bubbles to have for one of her recitals. And the salesperson at the city of Paris store in downtown San Francisco is the one that actually had introduced the two of them.

Virginie Boone 6:53
That is okay, that goes into the book. The movie as well. I mean, on the one hand, it seems like my simpler times. And yet, you know, not simple at all. If you think of your dad’s journey here and all the that he had to overcome, but they meet, is that sort of after the, the, you know all the bubbles that they enjoy and then they get married, is that when your dad sort of moves the wine production to Napa Valley?

Paula Kornell 7:21
Correct. When they were dating, they were, he was still in Sonoma, and then Italian-Swiss Colony had this warehouse on Larkmead Lane in right between St. Helena and Calistoga, and they pulled their dollars together, I think borrowed everything they possibly could, to purchase that building. Now, it’s on the label of Frank Family Wines, but it’s right down the road from Larkmead Vineyards. That’s where Hanns Kornell Champagne started from the third generation now to his own, really his own brand. And that’s where most everyone knew the brand for 38 years.

Virginie Boone 8:04
Yeah. And so you know, around that time, who would have been some of his contemporaries?

Paula Kornell 8:10
They’re really, oh contemporaries, there was a very small group of vintners. I mean, I remember as a kid going to Napa Valley Vintner meetings and there was probably a dozen vintners. It was, you know, there would be the Robert Mondavi, there’d be Peter Mondavi, there’d be Roy Raymond from Raymond, there would be, you know, it was such a small, there was Louis Martini. There were just all these family wineries that were trying to make it and everyone was working together. It was definitely a time when everyone did work together and they didn’t have, there was nothing that you could go out and buy the bigger the better. This was all hard work. And you just put one foot in front of the other to survive.

Virginie Boone 8:52
Yeah, I mean, it’s crazy to think that that really wasn’t that long ago and that you have these memories. And, you know, there’s, you have contemporaries of your own who have those memories, and it’s just, it’s inconceivable how young ultimately the California wine industry is.

Paula Kornell 9:10
Yeah, I think we forget. I think we forget that. I think we think that it was always this glamorous. You know, we’re basically glorified farmers. And it was a time when, yeah, all the kids, we all did every job in our wineries. And it was and it wasn’t looked at necessarily as work. It was also it was just part of the things that you did.

Virginie Boone 9:30
Yeah, it was just normal life for you. So you grew up on that on that winery?

Paula Kornell 9:34
I grew up, I didn’t grow up there… we lived on another old family property. That was my mother’s family’s property. But we spent so much time in that building that building was just like someone that sat down at your dining room table. It was, you know, a great old sort of haunted winery that you could play hide and go seek in you could do just about everything, everything. My first job was selling peacock feathers, walnuts and prunes in front of the tasting room.

Paula Kornell 10:07
No, I know. But you know, we did, I mean, at least for me, I did every single job when, in starting my business going over to rack and riddle and looking at how the sparkling wine business has become so automated, I could say to all these guys, I did each and every one of those jobs by hand at one time, riddling bottles, getting my pigtail stuck in the labeling line, you know, to gorging the bottles, stacking bottles.

Virginie Boone 10:35
Right. So that’s a good segue to sort of get into the fact that after, after a long time in the wine industry, growing up in the wine industry, and then of course, you’ve had a career, working with Napa Valley Vintners and working with a lot of other wineries to help them, you finally launched your own sparkling wine from the Napa Valley first, as well as you have a California brut. But I mean, it must have been a complicated exercise for you, like, do you do it? Why do you do it? How do you do it? I mean, I’m sure you went through a million different iterations in your head. But what did it finally take for you to to get there to put your name on it?

Paula Kornell 11:19
I think my, I think it was always in the back of my mind after our wine reclosed in ’92, that I would hope that I could be someday making sparkling wine. You know, I love Champagne. I love California sparkling wine. And so, it’s always been in the blood. My father used to always say we have more sparkling Burgundy in our veins than we do blood. And so it was always there. And it really took some really thought-provoking and then it took the right partner. I have a very good friend Pat Roney, who came to me and said, would I do a partnership with him? And it really it was the right match at the right time. And someone that could bring a sales and marketing, or sales team, to me, coming up with this type of style of wine I wanted to produce.

Virginie Boone 12:12
Right, okay, but you’re not working with Riesling or Chenin Blanc at this point.

Paula Kornell 12:16
No, not at all. I’m, you know, in the time our, my family’s winery closed, that also had changed drastically. We were still making a wine from Riesling, but then it had transferred to making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. So, for me, it was important that we started with that. I started with the Napa Valley appelaited wine. And so, thank goodness, Carneros is so close to us and the available, I had availability of fruit. So the Napa Valley is 98% Chard, excuse me, Pinot Noir, and the rest Chardonnay.

Virginie Boone 12:53
Right. So, I mean, and that’s an interesting other way for you to sort of make it your own. At this point, it’s it is going to be sort of your own stamp on it and reflect the times that we’re in that we grow very different types of grapes in the Napa Valley.

Paula Kornell 13:09
Absolutely. And you know, then we had such, when my family was in business, I think they had so many varietals of white wines, just as I said earlier, but, you know, now it, really, it really is gone. It’s gone much smaller of the grape varietals to choose from but also, the style I wanted to portray would be definitely much more classic, high acidity, but some nice fruit being Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Virginie Boone 13:36
Okay. So, you know, in terms of launching your own sparkling wine, you know, you’ve got the history, you’ve got the right partner, you’ve you’ve thought about this, obviously for a long time, but do you think you’re also hitting a really good moment in American appreciation and consumption for sparkling wine?

Paula Kornell 13:56
I definitely think so. You know, I grew up with it. Always being a celibratory product that you just celebrated your wedding or funeral, your divorce. My father would always say that he loved the fact when people got divorced because they sold two bottles of Champagne versus one bottle.

Virginie Boone 14:14
That’s hilarious.

Paula Kornell 14:16
And so, now I believe that we’re all much more accustomed to drinking sparkling wine on a normal basis. That this isn’t something that is just for a special occasion. That it is, it goes extremely well with food and extremely well with such a huge variety of food, as well as it could be used as an aperitif. It could be for your breakfast, it could be throughout your meal or as a dessert wine, too. So it’s, it really is very, very versatile. And I think people are just using it more. Some are mixing it. Some are not. But it’s much more available.

Virginie Boone 14:55
But do you think it’s also, you know, consumer, our evolution as consumers in America? Where we’re also appreciating drier styles of wine, let’s just say, and maybe not, you know, we’re not always in the mood for big, ripe, more higher and alcohol wines? And so sparkling really fits and fits in so many places beyond occasion? It’s also just the style that we are perhaps appreciating a little bit more than we did you know, even in the your dad’s heyday.

Paula Kornell 15:27
Oh my goodness. Yes, as you know, I live and die by Napa Valley Cabernet and it is all of a sudden starting this brand and drinking much more of my own sparkling wine and go, holy heck, this is incredible with its 12% alcohol. You could drink quite a bit of this. I like it.

Virginie Boone 15:48
Yeah, I like, I like it too.

Paula Kornell 15:52
But yes, I think just in general, it’s people are realizing that it is something that has got personality. It’s got lots of flavor. It’s not something thing that you, you have to take seriously. You have to take it seriously, but there’s also a time for it just to enjoy it.

Virginie Boone 16:07
Absolutely. So, but you, you know, I want to talk about Sonoma and Napa being good regions for sparkling wine. I mean, we do have some history here starting with Hanns Kornell for sure. And then, you know, a lot of the producers that people still know and love, whether they came from Europe and established a presence here like a Mumm or a Roderer, or they were pioneers like Schramsberg or Iron Horse in Sonoma. You know, clearly we have a lot of history, and we do have areas like Carneros and cooler parts of Sonoma that can do Pinot and Chardonnay for sparkling. But they’re also perhaps challenging in terms of great pricing. Is that some of what you had to go through in terms of establishing, you know, you have a Napa Valley but then you started a California fruit?

Paula Kornell 16:59
Absolutely. That’s so, you know, back to you—there was a reason why so much of the Europeans, of the Mumms and Roderers and Chandon and so many, came to Napa and Sonoma. Because they knew that we had great, it was a great, great grape-growing area. And there was great opportunities here. So now, even if you look at so many of those brands, you’ll also see that Napa Valley or Sonoma is not necessarily on some of their lower-price wines. Everybody’s had to go somewhere different just because of the fact that the price of grapes is so incredibly high, not only here in Napa and Sonoma, but now in Anderson Valley also. We’re just blessed that we have great fruit here. For me, for the California, I think the California Brut was the hardest actually, to not only come up with a style but to also source the grapes, because you needed, I wanted something of quality. I wanted to overdeliver in the bottle, that coming up with something that was, and having a Chardonnay-based, needing it to be dry, yeasty, and still with greatest acid, it was hard to find the right place.

Virginie Boone 18:13
Yeah, of course, of course, and, you know, and then you’re also dealing with the fact that sparkling wine takes time en tirage or, or either, you know, there’s there’s more time in the bottles before release. In some of these instances, there’s vintage dating or nonvintage dating. So how did you tackle some of those questions?

Paula Kornell 18:33
Well, I think that everyone needs to be aware that making methode Championoise, the true, traditional method of making sparkling wine or making Champagne, is so time consuming and is so intensive, hand intensive. That, it is amazing when you can see something that is under $20 or even and, you know, even under $50, that is truly a bargain because of the amount of time, energy, how many times that bottle’s hand-touched before it is able to go out into the market. So it was important for me that the Napa Valley hopefully could stay under $50. Because for then, to me, that’s the threshold of when we’re going to go from sparkling wine to possibly going to a Champagne from France, and California trying to come up with something that’s going to be reasonable that you could drink freely and not think of it back to that not being a special occasion wine, but it was, still had substance and quality to it.

Virginie Boone 19:41
Yeah, absolutely. I mean that, it’s interesting, over time, to see a lot of, you know, producers that are really focused on still wines sort of try to make a sparkling or to just sort of for fun or to greet visitors when they come to their tasting rooms or for winemaker dinners—it’s not the easiest thing to just churn out on the side as to your point.

Paula Kornell 20:05
No it’s not, and I think so many minutes, so many friends of mine, some I know friends of yours, that have all this, they’re doing exactly that. They’re making a small amount but realize how hard it is and how expensive it is to be able to do something on a regular basis.

Virginie Boone 20:22
Yeah, so let’s talk about a little bit. You know, a lot of the producers that I taste regularly and admire are more traditional sparkling-wine houses. I mean, Iron Horse in Sonoma, family owned, I’m sure you know them. While I think, you know, they are pretty much all estate fruit, they’ve been very devoted to sparkling for a long time. I think some of the, some of the wines they make, like their Wedding Cuvée, is just, year after year, is just a really well-made sparkling wine. I imagine you might have some others that you like from them.

Paula Kornell 21:00
I like all of their wines actually. And I also, what I love about what Iron Horse does is they have so many, not so many, but they do a couple of different wines that they’re giving back, too, either to animals or to wildlife or something. And so, they’ve been, they’ve been just great about that, but the wines are always stellar.

Virginie Boone 21:21
Yeah, and very classic, very dry. Very, you know, they’re relying a lot on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and I don’t think they have Pinot Meunier, that seems to be much harder to find in most California sparkling wines.

Paula Kornell 21:34
I think it is now. It used to be, used to be a bit, maybe 10 years ago, it was much more prevalent, and I don’t know if it was just the fact that it didn’t grow as well or that it was too costly to grow. I honestly don’t know. But you don’t see very much anymore.

Virginie Boone 21:51
Yeah, you just, you don’t, and maybe here it doesn’t contribute what it does in Champagne and that’s another reason as well, and you’re hedging your bets. By having more Pinot or Chardonnay that you could turn into a still wine if need be or sell to somebody to make into a still wine. I think that’s probably it. So another producer that that I’ve long liked and admired is Domaine Carneros. You know, we were talking about Carneros earlier, and another sort of lineage to France. But long time, very high and you know, classically made sparkling wines. I really like their La Rêve Blanc de Blancs.

Paula Kornell 22:31
Yeah, I love the acidity on that, especially as I’m just as we’re talking about both of these wines. I’m thinking also, they also have females behind them too, between Iron Horse and Domaine Carneros. So it’s pretty cool.

Virginie Boone 22:42
They do and you know, and I do find that there’s a lot of women involved in sparkling wine in California. Yeah, absolutely. To that point, yeah, including Jamie Davies, who, you know, was one of the founders of Schramsberg.

Paula Kornell 22:56
Exactly.

Virginie Boone 22:57
Yeah, so the Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs, I don’t think that they make it every year. The last vintage I had, I think was 2012. So they clearly keep it in bottle for an extended period of time. Is that something that you are looking to do? Have you put some stuff aside?

Paula Kornell 23:15
Well, yes. And really, you know, my dream is to be able to have something that is on the older side. I think that was why it was so important when we were doing the Napa Valley to really, some of the wine, some of the wine in there has been barrel fermented, trying to give it as much backbone as possibly we can give without having to age it for quite a long time. But yeah, so this next this harvest we’ll be producing a blanc de blancs. And hopefully we’re going to be able to age that for at least four years. We’ll see, but we’re hoping that we can get as much age as possible on it, but I love what I do, love that Domaine Carneros is that dry and that it’s very, the acidity and the yeastiness is a great blend together.

Virginie Boone 24:03
Yeah. And, you know, the other thing thinking about Schramsberg was I’ve noticed some of the ones that I’ve really liked from them most recently are actually vineyard-designated sparklers. And so, I think one of the ones that came to mind was they were working with grape vineyard Hyde Vineyard, which many people know for their Chardonnay. They made a blanc de blancs that, the last one I had, I think was 2014. But, do you think it’s interesting, the vineyard-designate sparkling? I haven’t seen as much of that. What do you think, is that interesting? Do you think that consumers are drawn to that, who maybe either maybe they don’t know the producer or maybe they have, they’re not drinking as much sparkling wine as they could and this might be a good way to reach them.

Paula Kornell 24:51
I think it’s just another designate that could help them. You’ve got the name of the winery, the name of the vineyard and then you have Napa Valley. On top of it, my concern is if it gets too complicated, that we go in a different direction, I really do want to keep it as simple as possible. However, for the Napa Valley, I don’t have Mitsuko’s Vineyard on the label, but it is 100% from one particular vineyard. So it’s, it’s doable. It’s just a matter of how much information you want to put on that label.

Virginie Boone 25:26
Well, I would have thought that part of the appeal and making sparkling is the freedom. I mean, it’s one of the few categories of wine where you don’t necessarily have to vintage date. You don’t necessarily have to specific appellate it. There’s there’s lots of freedom to some extent, and so you’re sort of locking yourself in. It’s interesting. It’s like two different worlds of sparkling.

Paula Kornell 25:49
It’s so true because you go to France, last year I was in Champagne, and you visit someone like Krug, who has, you know, hundreds of different growers that they’re dealing with, and they are making a beautiful blend of all those different wines or different styles that produce together something specific that they’re interested in. But it’s, it really, it’s the group together that is bringing together what they want. Or the style that they want.

Virginie Boone 26:22
And, and that innovation is probably so much more difficult in a place as steeped in history and tradition as Champagne but, but here in California, we do have, you know, the ability to kind of play around and innovate. One of the producers, sparkling-wine-focus producers that I’ve discovered recently, is called Carboniste, and it’s a husband and wife, very small operation based in Napa and they’re working, you know, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but they’re also doing some sparkling with Alberiño and Pinot Gris and, you know, it kind of it’s, it’s like, new and different and yet having had the talk about what your dad was working with, it’s also sort of a throwback.

Paula Kornell 27:02
That is so true! So I have not had their wines yet. But it is so funny because when I was first working on the, well both the Napa and the California [appellated-wines], someone had brought up French Colombard and now, here’s a great brand, oh, we haven’t heard about for quite a while because there’s really not much growing in Napa certainly. And I remember so clearly seeing those samples of French Colombard, Chenin Blanc, again, it was just a mixture of dry white, so we truly have gone full circle.

Virginie Boone 27:37
Wow. And I guess that, that’s just the way it goes in California. I mean, because, you’re not bound. You’re not bound to anything. And we have an entrepreneurial spirit. So I do I love seeing that. And yet you know your wines were, were such a lovely kind of classical touch to them. It’s good to have all these things

Virginie Boone 28:08
Well, I loved talking to you about sparkling wine. I wish you continued success and exploration. And thank you so much for joining us today.

Paula Kornell 28:19
Thank you for having me.

Lauren Buzzeo 28:25
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Wine Enthusiast Podcast. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely ready for a glass of California sparkling wine right about now. We talked about a lot of different wines today, with many recommendations worth checking out, including recently reviewed selections from Napa and Sonoma sparkling wine producers such as Domaine Carneros, Iron Horse, Schramsberg, and of course, the new wines from Paula Kornell. So be sure to visit winemag.com/podcast yo learn more about these wines and where to find them. Subscribe to the Wine Enthusiast Podcast on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you find your podcasts. And if you like today’s episode, we’d love to read your review and hear what you think. And hey, why not tell your wine living friends check us out, too. You can also drop us a line at podcast@winemag.com for more wine reviews, recipes, guides, deep dives and stories. Visit Wine Enthusiast online at winemag.com and connect with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @wineenthusiast. The Wine Enthusiast Podcast is produced by Lauren Buzzeo and Jenny Groza. Until next episode, cheers!

If you’ve been drinking Argentine wine for a while, you know the country’s signature style: a dark-tinted Malbec with aromas and flavors of raisin, blackberry jam and creamy new oak. It may contain upward of 15.5% alcohol by volume (abv) and be infused with searing tartaric acidity that aids balance and allows the wine to live on for decades.

But that style of wine, while very much still in existence, is losing popularity. Consumers, sommeliers and importers are seeking fresher, leaner, more food-friendly wines. Winemakers are happy to oblige, often with fruit from high-elevation vineyards blessed with limestone or rocky alluvial soils.

These wines and winemakers are at the forefront of a movement toward notable snap, zest and vigor. In these wines, alcohol levels are generally between 13% and 13.5% abv. Whether Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon or any other variety, white or red, “freshness” has become the theme of the moment throughout Argentina.

Less is More

Juan Facundo Suárez, co-owner and co-winemaker of Traslapiedra and other labels, knows a thing or two about how to produce fresh-style wines. His great-grandfather, Leopoldo Suárez, literally wrote the book, or Manual Ampelográfico, on how and why winemakers in Mendoza should strive to make bottlings low in alcohol and oak, but high in freshness.

“He knew back in 1911 to avoid over-ripeness,” says Suárez. “He wrote about not using too much oak, about the character of our Malbec and Sémillon grown on calcareous soils. And that is what we are doing nowadays. Most of what falls into this emerging fresh category are terroir-driven wines from defined regions within the Uco Valley. In terms of winemaking techniques, it’s about looking back and making wines in a natural way, without additions.”

Traslapiedra’s 2018 Malbec is a stellar example of a no-intervention, new-wave Argentine wine that almost falls under the “natural” umbrella. It comes from Paraje Altamira, a recently denominated section of San Carlos in the Uco Valley.

The entire region sits well over 3,000 feet above sea level; its soils are full of round rocks that came down countless centuries ago from the nearby Andes. Some are as big as boulders. Most are covered with chalky white calcium carbonate that is said to impart a can’t-miss minerality to the wines.

“We are trying to make an easy-drinking wine with the texture that Paraje Altamira’s calcareous soils can provide,” says Suárez. “We ferment and age in concrete, with a short maceration and without bleeding.”

Aging Gracefully

Fermenting and aging in concrete, as opposed to using stainless steel followed by extended time in new oak, only helps with freshness, Argentine winemakers claim. At Familia Zuccardi’s Bodega de Piedra Infinita, also in Paraje Altamira, Sebastián Zuccardi eschews small oak barrels and relies mostly on concrete and the occasional large wood foudre.

“The concept of freshness is more related to how a wine smells and feels than the laboratory analysis,” says Zuccardi, whose 2018 Polígonos Cabernet Franc and Malbec, from high-elevation vineyards in the San Pablo and Gualtallary zones of the Uco Valley, shouts with brightness and punch.

“I’m more focused on balance, acidity, texture, length, flower and herb aromas, low or no oak, etc.,” he says. “With the sunny weather that we have, sugar rises quickly at the beginning of the season but then slows down in March [when picking begins]. I don’t like to be higher than 14% to 14.5% because you lose tension. Between 13% and 14%, we can find great balance in our wines.”

That alcohol level is where you will find the bulk of the wines made jointly or individually by Gerardo, Matías and Juan Pablo Michelini. Collectively, they’re behind the Michelini Bros. label that makes terroir-specific Malbecs and other varietal wines and blends.

One of their standout wines is Zorzal 2017 EGGO Tinto de Tiza, a Malbec from a particularly limestone-rich vineyard in the Gualtallary section of Tupungato. Juan Pablo, the youngest of the brothers, says that they started thinking about its creation in 2012, when more was still more in Argentina.

“The objective behind EGGO has been to show the true and pure character of the most calcareous parts of Gualtallary,” he says. “A key point to making these wines is when we harvest, and in general we do it on the early side; adapting harvest dates to a particular year’s climate allows our wines to show finesse and, above all, elegance.”

Like Traslapiedra and Zuccardi’s Polígonos line, EGGO wines are fermented with only natural yeasts and aged entirely in concrete eggs, hence the name.

“Whether we are using wood or not, we are heavily focused on the aging process and avoiding overextraction,” says Juan Pablo.

Fresh wines that don’t clobber you over the head with overripe fruit and heavy oak, nor burn with tartaric acid. That’s what savvy wine lovers are finding—and enjoying more than ever— from Argentina these days.

Bottles to Try

Michelini i Mufatto 2017 La Cautiva Malbec (Gualtallary); $75, 96 points. Top of the mark, top of the heap is where this Malbec from Gualtallary in Tupungato ranks. Pure blackberry, cassis and plum aromas are impeccably clean and welcoming, while this feels squeaky fresh on the palate. Blackberry and dark chocolate flavors set up a minerally finish that plays out with fruity subtleties and stony infusions. Drink through 2026. Brazos Wine Imports. Editors’ Choice.

Durigutti 2018 Proyecto Las Compuertas Cinco Suelos Malbec (Luján de Cuyo); $30, 93 points. This Malbec from five different vineyard blocks is part of a small-batch project from brothers Hector and Pablo Durigutti. Pure aromas of blackberry and cassis come with a herbal accent. It is full in body but not heavy due to bracing acidity and controlled alcohol. Flavors of blackberry, plum and beet root finish with clarity. Enjoy through 2024. The Artisan Collection.

Zorzal 2017 Eggo Tinto de Tiza Malbec (Tupungato); $30, 93 points. This red delivers a full blast of berry fruit aromas along with savory notes of beef stew and fine herbs. Like the nose, this tastes herbal and savory. In terms of feel, it is solid in stature but brightened by bold acidity. Drink through 2024. Brazos Wine Imports. Editors’ Choice.

Chakana 2017 Ayni Malbec (Paraje Altamira); $39, 91 points. Ripe aromas of black plum and cassis are topped with an appealing oak tone. This is a fairly tight and fresh style of Malbec that shows black-fruit flavors on the palate aided by toasty oak. It finishes with firm tannins. Drink through 2026. Kysela Père et Fils.

Zolo 2017 Reserve Estate Grown Cabernet Franc (Mendoza); $20, 91 points. French consultant Jean Claude Berrouet is helping Zolo’s team make fresher wines at lower alcohol levels, and this wine fits the bill with its aromas of earth, cinnamon and berries. It’s fully ripe but not heavy on the palate, showing gamy, herbal and berry flavors that are typical of the variety. Vino Del Sol.

Colomé 2019 Estate Torrontés (Salta); $15, 89 points. Aromas of lemon, lime and pastry dusted with powdered sugar lead to a round palate with citrus-like acidity. Pineapple and melon flavors come with a touch of salt, while the palate feels full with a slight grip. Drink now. Hess Family Wine Estates.

For oenophiles who increasingly opt for lighter, fresher reds, producers around California’s Santa Barbara County know just the grape to kick things into high gear: Gamay Noir.

Traditionally produced in Beaujolais, the variety is establishing a happy home throughout the region, where a handful of winemakers already grow Gamay and anticipate more plantings to come.

“Because of the juxtaposition of a sunny climate with cold ocean winds, our refrigerated-sunlight conditions prove to be an incredible place to grow cold-climate varieties like Gamay,” says John Faulkner, winemaker at Pence Vineyards & Winery in Sta. Rita Hills.

Pence began growing the grape in 2014. Today, it has one of the most extensive Gamay programs around, recently adding two more acres. Consumers, though initially hesitant, have also gotten on board, and the winery’s Annual Gamay Dinner is now its most popular event.

“I love Pinot Noir, but it’s everywhere and everyone is making it. Gamay is almost like a different spin… It tends to [be] darker on the fruit spectrum but lighter in texture, [and can] hold its acid quite well… They tend to be very approachable, even to the most novice taster.”

Jeremy Leffert of Rabble Wine Company, who bottles Gamay from the Santa Maria Valley for his Stasis label, agrees.

“Although plantings are scarce, Gamay is a refreshing change from the [varieties] that occupy the lion’s share of acreage and space on wine lists,” he says.

Plus: “Gamay has a very strong sense of identity. Site and varietal expression has the tendency to trump winemaking.”

That taste of place and state is what makes this Gamay Noir so worth seeking.

“I have yet to taste a Gamay from Santa Barbara County, including my own, that brings me back to Fleurie or Morgon,” says Drake Whitcraft, who makes Gamay for his namesake label. “I love the Gamay I make, but it is distinctly Californian—as it should be.”

The distillery equivalent to grower wines, “farm distilleries” or “estate distilleries” focus on growing the raw materials used to distill spirits.

Yet, this represents a relatively small percentage of distilleries. A number of states offer licensing and tax breaks for “farm distilleries” that work with agricultural products sourced from local growers. However, only a handful start with hands in the dirt themselves.

“I think the easiest way to describe it is: If a farmer in Pennsylvania in 1750 would recognize your business model, you’re a farm distillery,” says Mike Swanson, co-owner/head distiller of Far North Spirits in Hallock, Minnesota.

The advantage for a distillery is absolute control over the crops that are grown. Far North has experimented with growing and comparing microvarietals of rye.

Meanwhile, at Iron Fish Distillery in Thompsonville, Michigan, the producers use organic farming methods and conserve the local water supply through responsible environmental practices.

“In our own hearts, we know what we’re doing with the land, and those things are important to us,” says David Wallace, owner/partner at Iron Fish.

These four distilleries give new meaning to the “ground-to-glass” movement.

Rye seeds at Far North Distillery / Photo by Cheri Reese

Far North Spirits

Hallock, MN

Though he grew up in a multigenerational farming family, Swanson took detours through the healthcare industry and corporate world. He returned to farm life in 2012, after his father began to talk about retirement. “You can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy,” he says.

Today, Far North grows 100 acres of rye and 10 acres of corn used to make whiskey. Its flagship is Roknar, a robust Minnesota Rye with plenty of orchard fruit and spice. The distillery crafts other spirits like a single-estate vodka.

One of the advantages of a farm, for a producer, is that it can grow and experiment with multiple varieties of a crop. Swanson did just that with 15 varieties of rye.

After he analyzed the grains (a study of his findings will be released this summer), Swanson used some of the greatest successes to distill a limited-edition Roknar Seed Vault Series. The first round sold out quickly. A second batch is planned for fall.

“You gotta roll with the punches. It’s all Mother Nature at the end of the day.” —Gabriella Purita, head distiller, Greenport Distilling

Greenport Distilling

Southold, NY

Long Island’s North Fork is known for its picturesque vineyards. But distilleries are a growing part of the scene here, too.

Greenport, the distilling arm of One Woman Wines, was founded in 2009 after a tornado tore through the 40-acre vineyard and rendered its grapes unfit for wine.

Winemaker Claudia Purita, the “one woman,” planted the vineyard in 2004 on the site of a former potato farm. Her daughter, Gabriella Purita, now the head distiller, applied for a distillation license so she could turn the damaged grapes into grappa. It was an homage to her father, Frank, who died in 2001.

“He and I loved grappa and gin,” says Gabriella. “We tried to make the best out of a bad situation for us.” Single-varietal grappas, like one made from the aromatic Gewürztraminer grape, are the distillery’s signature offering, while the gin is flavored with 28 botanicals, almost all sourced from the farm.

“You gotta roll with the punches,” says Gabriella. That scrappy attitude embodies the farming life. “It’s all Mother Nature at the end of the day.”

Iron Fish Distillery

Thompsonville, MI

Located at the end of a two and a half mile dirt road on a reclaimed farmstead that dates to the 1890s, Iron Fish Distillery grows and sources local grain to make craft spirits. Its line includes a wheated-style straight Bourbon and Four Cask, a blend of Bourbons finished in rum, Cognac, Sherry and maple syrup barrels.

Named for a moniker given to the local steelhead trout, Iron Fish grows wheat and rye on the 120-acre property. “[That’s] about 50% of the grain needed for the distillery,” says owner/partner David Wallace. Corn is sourced elsewhere.

Wallace’s wife, Heidi Bolger, has roots in the area, as her mother grew up there. About 10 years ago, the Wallaces purchased the farmland, but they hadn’t figured out what to do with it. Instead, it took a trip to the distilleries of Scotland to crystallize plans to grow grains and make whiskey.

The distillery is focused on sustainable farming methods and preservation of the local water supply.

“It’s important that we have control over what goes on in our fields and how we use our land,” says Wallace. Once the grain is harvested and the distilling process is begun, “there’s no difference between us and any other distillery.”

Whistlepig Distillery

Shoreham, VT

Built on the site of a former dairy farm, Whistlepig specializes in rye whiskey. Its rye crop covers 220 acres of the 500-acre farm.

“[We’ve] tried a little bit of everything,” says Emily Harrison, the distillery manager. This includes different types of wheat, heirloom rye and corn, even Dent #2 commodity corn. “What we make depends on our harvest,” she says.

Among its bottlings is Farmstock Rye. The long-term goal is to create a whiskey made entirely with grain grown on the farm. Its first three releases have been made with a small percentage of Whistlepig’s own rye, which has increased with each bottling.

The first release included 20% homegrown rye, with the rest based on more mature whiskeys sourced from Indiana and Canada. The second contained 32% of its own rye, and the third, a complex bottling that bursts with candied ginger and baking spice, increased to 52%.

A fourth edition is in the works. “It’s been the plan from Day One to do farm-to-glass,” says Pete Lynch, Whistlepig’s master blender.

Inspired by the popularity of all-day rosé, Vicente Romero, general manager/beverage director of Onward in Chicago, found a clever way to double up on the pink stuff: supplement the wine with a small measure of rosé gin.

He likes to use Two Brothers Rosé Gin, made locally from a base steeped in Pinot Noir grapes for two weeks. “[The cocktail is] the perfect patio sipper,” says Romero. “Not too sweet, not too boozy.”

These versatile pickles work with either a fruity red or zesty white wine. Feel free to adjust the red pepper flakes, depending on your desired heat. The pickles are great tucked into pork lettuce wraps or served alongside Korean fried chicken, but are a pretty addictive snack on their own.

It was the perfect afternoon for a beer festival. On a bright August day with a high of 77°F, a handful of brewers poured for roughly 1,500 people on the sprawling, 19-acre grounds of Trillium Brewing Company outside of Boston.

One of the stations was dedicated to Belgium’s famed Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen, which offered some of the most celebrated beers in the world. But on this Saturday, there was little wait for either.

Instead, a line stretched in front of a table with machines that churned a cream-colored frozen slush. Of the six beers that Trillium poured for its Field Trip festival, the two that received the most attention were “foamy freezes” served from a slushy machine.

Trillium’s coconut-pineapple foamy freeze was first to run out that day, followed soon by the pink lemonade variety. While novelty may have had something to it, Trillium’s foamy freezes also speak to the creative, sometimes counterintuitive nature of beer trends.

Over the last 40 years, brewers have experimented with an array of flavors, processes and ingredients. They’ve turned classic styles into comfort foods like pastry stouts or hazy milkshake IPAs brewed with fruit purées and lactose.

That brewers have dipped into frozen desserts akin to shaved ice or slushies is just another extension. Slushy beers don’t render the Belgian classics irrelevant, of course. They simply give brewers a new creative outlet, and perhaps better Instagram engagement.

At the same festival, Henok Fentie, the founder of Sweden’s Omnipollo brewery, served some of his beers beneath a soft serve-like topping also poured from a specialty freezing machine.

Fentie, largely credited with popularizing this method, has brought slushy machines to festivals around the world for the last five years. A search of the brewery’s social media channels and related hashtags reveals scores of fluffy-topped beer slushies.

Drinkers might be reminded of bia wun, sometimes called “jelly beer,” a Thai tradition where bottles of beer are inserted into a rumbling cooling vat. They emerge as single-serve, jelly-like slushies.

To brew a beer slushy from scratch, you can’t simply pour ingredients into a slushy mixer, flip a switch and expect to produce a frosty treat with perfect consistency. Recipes must be able to withstand extreme temperatures and constant agitation.

Because freezing can accentuate the sensation of bitterness, beers like hoppy IPAs often don’t fare well. Beers with more than 20 IBUs, a relatively mild level of bitterness, will likely be difficult to enjoy as a slushy. Instead, brewers largely opt for styles like gose, Berliner weisse or simple ales that can benefit from the addition of fruit purée.

Some brewers brew a large batch of one style of beer and then siphon off a smaller portion to freeze. The ideal temperature for beer slushies is around 27°F.

“We thought we would get a lot of backlash from some beer purists, but really, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We sell out every time we put one on.”—Mike Pallen, owner, Mikerphone Brewing

“For most of our Berliners that we convert into slushy, they are at five to six Brix [a measure of sweetness; one degree Brix equates to 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution], so we need to add simple syrup to get the Brix up to 15 or 16,” says Mike Pallen, owner of Mikerphone Brewing in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Coca-Cola, for example, is 9 Brix. “For our sweeter stouts that we convert, less sugar is needed, since the starting Brix on those beers is higher.”

Pallen started to make frozen beer last year and purchased factory slushy machines that cost approximately $5,000 each. The investment paid off. Every time one of the beers, called Mikeees, is made, he says, it quickly sells out.

Mikerphone serves its Mikeees in 16-ounce glasses shaped like Solo cups, with thick straws. The brewery sometimes tops the beer with whipped cream and a cherry, a cocktail umbrella or a fruit garnish.

“We thought we would get a lot of backlash from some beer purists, but really, the response has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Pallen. “We sell out every time we put one on.”

It’s a similar story in Greeley, Colorado, where Kyle Carbaugh, owner/brewer of Wiley Roots Brewing Company, experiments with fruit slush beers. High-end equipment freezes beer down to its optimal temperature within six minutes, and the freezers kick back on every few minutes to maintain slushy consistency. This is preferable to the constant churn of typical slushy machines that can quickly break down carbonation.

Last summer, Carbaugh experimented with to-go frozen beers. He purchased 12-ounce, BPA-free plastic pouches, filled them with CO2 and beer, and then froze them. The first batch of 100 pouches sold out in five hours, he says.

As brewers continue to push boundaries, frozen beers can likely grow in popularity. Professional-grade machines could become a common sight at breweries alongside centrifuges and fermenters. While this summer’s beer festival circuit might be curtailed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, brewers say they are going to continue to tinker with recipes.

“We’re not going to mess with something like a traditional German lager,” says Carbaugh. “But beers like this are fun, and why not experiment? That’s what got so many of us into brewing to begin with.

Warm weather and the summer weekends mean it’s time to fire up your backyard grill. Whether carrot hot dogs or burgers au poivre are on the menu, your shopping list should include a great bottle of red wine from California.

This list of California red blends includes all the big hitters: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Merlot. Each of these bottles is perfect for a long, lazy dinner under the stars and there’s something for everyone at your table.

Morgan 2018 G 17 Syrah (Santa Lucia Highlands); $25, 94 points. Lively aromas of black raspberry jam on French toast, dark hibiscus, tar and lavender show on the cool-climate nose of this bottling, which includes 3% each of Grenache and Tempranillo. The palate is vibrant with flavors of pepper, lavender and lilac, set against the richer black-raspberry and black-plum backdrop. –Matt Kettmann

Valravn 2018 Pinot Noir (Sonoma County); $24, 92 points. This is a high-toned, earthy and textured wine that overdelivers on its price point, presenting complex Asian spice, black-tea and candied cherry and raspberry flavor. The tannins are soft and well integrated, as is the oak, allowing plenty of room for nuance and elegant composure. Editors’ Choice. –V.B.

Girard 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley); $30, 90 points. This is an outstanding wine for the price, a hearty, full-bodied and well-integrated wine offering high-toned red currant, citrus and cassis. Juicy, structured and broad in appeal, it has ample oak and tannin to stand up to the fruit. Editors’ Choice. –V.B.

Most of the wines we enjoy today are produced from Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine species responsible for well-known grapes like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. But as technology and viticulture advances, more winemakers turn to a category of grapes known as hybrids.

Hybrid grapes, made by crossing European Vitis vinifera vines with American Vitis labrusca or Vitis riparia grapes, were originally cultivated in response to phylloxera. After the pest destroyed most of the vineyards in Europe in the late 1800s, grape breeders experimented with new insect- and disease-resistant grapes that wouldn’t be as affected by the pest or other issues like rot, mildew or cold temperatures.

While these hybrids provided a solution, they weren’t widely embraced in Europe. Winemakers found the flavors, tannins and acid structure of Vitis vinifera grapes more favorable than hybrid varieties, often thought to produce simpler wines with musky aromas and flavors. Until recently, hybrid grapes were largely banned in European wine regions.

Today, less than 5% of vineyards globally are planted with hybrid grapes, according to Dr. José Vouillamoz, a Swiss grape geneticist and co-author of Wine Grapes. But as climate change affects many areas, winemakers have begun to embrace new grapes.

Growers in the Languedoc-Roussillon and Bordeaux are among the first in France to make wines with these resistant cultivars.

In North America, there’s a rich history of farming hybrids. Many were developed at Cornell University and the University of Minnesota. In places like Vermont, Michigan, Canada and the Finger Lakes region of New York, hybrid grapes like Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc or Marquette have been grown for decades.

Many now refine the wines produced with them, and wine lovers have slowly warmed up to their potential.

Here’s a guide to some of the most common hybrid grapes and the regions that make unique, compelling wines with them.

A vineyard of Frontenac Blanc grapes in Quebec, Canada/Getty

White Hybrid Grapes

Cabernet Doré

In 2001, Lucian Dressel of Davis Viticultural Research created Cabernet Doré. The unique crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and the red hybrid Norton yielded a white grape, likely a recessive gene from Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon’s parent. Its characteristics are similar to its green-skinned grandparent, with a creamier texture and more floral notes like Muscat or Sémillon. Only a handful of states have vineyards planted to it, many located in the Midwest.

Cayuga

The Cayuga White grape was developed at Cornell in 1945 and later released for use in 1972, intended for the nearby Finger Lakes region, where it appears in many sparkling wines. Outside of New York, Cayuga is grown in Vermont and Pennsylvania, where it can range in style from dry and citrusy to rich, late-harvest dessert wines.

Chardonel

A crossing of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc, Chardonel was developed at Cornell in 1953, and it was released and named in 1990. In the vineyard, Chardonel is similar to Chardonnay and maintains its distinctive acidity. It grows well in Michigan and Arkansas.

Vidal Blanc grapes/Getty

La Crescent

One of the most cold-hardy grapes, La Crescent was named after a small town in Minnesota, where it was developed by University of Minnesota breeders and released in 2002. The grape has high sugar and acidity levels, and it’s often used to create sweet or semisweet wines that exude stone fruit, citrus and tropical aromas.

Seyval Blanc

One of the most widely planted hybrids east of the Rocky Mountains, Seyval Blanc was first created by Bertille Seyve in France. It produces fresh, crisp wines ripe with attractive citrus, peach and grassy aromas. The grape is popular in Canada, the American Midwest, New York and England, where it’s commonly blended into sparkling wines.

Traminette

Released by Cornell University in 1996, this grape is a cross of Gewürztraminer and a French-American hybrid, Joannes Seyve 23.416. Traminette possesses similar floral and spicy aromatic properties common to Gewürztraminer, while still being resistant to fungal diseases and cold climates. It’s planted along the East Coast and Midwest, where it was chosen by the Indiana Wine Grape Council as the state’s signature wine.

Vidal Blanc

Developed in France in the 1930s by Jean Louis Vidal, Vidal Blanc, often shortened to just “Vidal,” is compared sometimes to Riesling. Depending on where it’s grown, Vidal might be crisp and citrusy, or more pineapple and floral.

A crossing of Ugni Blanc and the hybrid variety, Rayon d’Or, Vidal Blanc is grown widely around the Great Lakes, where the thick-skinned grape is used to make ice wine in Ontario and the Finger Lakes. It’s also used to make dry wines in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

Red Hybrid Grapes

Baco Noir

This dark-skinned variety has berry and black cherry flavors capable of channeling those of Beaujolais or the Rhône Valley. Created by Francois Baco during the phylloxera epidemic in France, Baco Noir is one of the few hybrid grapes permitted historically in a European appellation, where it’s grown in Gascony to make Armagnac brandy. In North America, it’s grown primarily in Canada, New York, Oregon and Nova Scotia.

Catawba

Marked for its pronounced “foxy” or musky flavor, this purple-hued grape is believed to have originated somewhere along the East Coast of the U.S., where it’s still grown predominantly around Lake Erie and the Finger Lakes. It’s the likely cross of Sémillon and an unknown Vitis labrusca variety.

Catawba played an important role in early American winegrowing, but it’s fallen out of favor as more favorable hybrids have been discovered. Its clonal mutation, Pink Catawba, is used to make rosé, which is sweeter and lower in acidity. It resembles a white Zinfandel.

Chambourcin

Johannes Seyve 11369 and Plantet were crossed to make Chambourcin, the work of French biochemist Joannes Seyve (son of Bertille). Considered one of the best French-American hybrids, Chambourcin is a teinturier variety, a red grape with both dark skin and flesh. It creates vibrant, aromatic red wines often higher in tannins than other hybrid-based bottlings. The widely planted grape can be found in Ontario, the U.S. Midwest and on the East Coast as far south as North Carolina.

Frontenac Noir Grapes/Getty

Frontenac

Sometimes referred to as Frontenac Noir, this complex cross of the hybrid Landot Noir with a native Vitis riparia vine was developed at the University of Minnesota in 1978 and was released in 1996. Then, in 2003, a grey-berried mutation of the grape called Frontenac Gris was released, with the white-fruited mutation, Frontenac Blanc, in 2012. The dark-skinned Frontenac has enjoyed success in Minnesota, where it’s one of the most commonly planted wine grapes, as well as in Vermont, where it’s used to make rustic pétillant-naturel wines.

Marquette

This blue-berried hybrid, a grandchild of Pinot Noir, was created in 1989 at the University of Minnesota and released for public use in 2006. Like Chambourcin, Marquette is a teinturier variety, with blue-tinged skin and colored flesh inside.

It’s a versatile grape that can be fragrant and fruity, or exude more complex characteristics like tobacco and leather. Known for its hardiness in cold weather, it can be found mostly in Minnesota, Vermont and New York.

Norton

Norton was cultivated during the early 1800s in Richmond, Virginia, where Dr. Daniel Norton first planted it in his vineyards. Soon after, it became the dominant wine grape on the East Coast, as well as in Midwestern states like Ohio. Most of those vines were ripped up during Prohibition and replanted with Concord grapes. In recent years, winemakers in Virginia and Missouri have worked to revive the hybrid grape, whose parentage is still unknown.

]]>‘You Don’t Go to a Bar for the Alcohol’: Seeking Community in Quarantinehttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/21/virtual-happy-hour-bars-quarantine/
Thu, 21 May 2020 11:00:04 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54393Getty

Imagine you’re in Egypt, circa 1923. King Tut’s tomb has just been discovered, and you’re celebrating in style. There’s belly dancing, cocktails and attendees clad in their finest threads.

The twist? It’s 2020, and you’re on your couch.

Welcome to the brave new world of virtual happy hours, a business category born of necessity during the novel coronavirus pandemic. While people around the globe self-quarantine, upstarts like Shanghai Mermaid, which hosted the Egyptian-themed virtual party on May 2, unite them via Zoom or other video streaming services for digital get-togethers. Atmospheres range from theatrical nightclubs to low-key neighborhood watering holes.

These gatherings generate much-needed income for bartenders and club performers. But they also aim to provide the most intangible asset of a bar or restaurant: a sense of connection to your community.

“We don’t know when nightlife will come back. It’s a new world. So, we have to create a new way to connect with each other.” —Juliette Campbell, founder, Shanghai Mermaid

The vibe is slightly less theatrical at Dani & Jackie’s Virtual Happy Hour, a gathering of cocktail professionals and home bartenders eager to learn tricks of the trade. Held six nights a week, the events are free to join.

“You don’t go to a bar for the alcohol,” says Jackie Summers, writer/creator of Sorel Liqueur, who co-hosts the events with writer Daniella Veras and bartender Lauren Myerscough. “You go to a bar for the companionship. You go back to the bar for the bartender.”

Summers says that the trio aims to “create a virtual space where people could get all of the social interaction they’re accustomed to from bars while sheltering in place, and learn some things in the meantime.”

Featured guests include industry professionals who lead cocktail classes, as well as those from adjacent industries, like financial advisors and medical professionals. At a recent gathering, a psychologist spoke about the rise in unusual dreams during quarantine.

While it’s hard to recreate the magic of a dimly lit cocktail den, favorite dive or thumping nightclub, attendees appreciate the chance to connect with like-minded people.

Mayra Sierra, a visual merchandiser in Dallas, enjoys the connections that virtual happy hours provide. “There’s no stress of having to rush through traffic or waiting 20 minutes for a bartender to attend you. I’ve also become a great bartender.”

Virtual hangouts have heightened her appreciation for the effort of bartenders. “I’ve felt the need to support small businesses as much as I can,” she says.

While it’s hard to recreate the magic of a dimly lit cocktail den, favorite dive or thumping nightclub, attendees appreciate the chance to connect with like-minded people.

Lauren and John Maggio, founders of the canned cocktail company Cocktail Squad, host live music sets by regional and nationally acclaimed artists on YouTube and Instagram.

Any brewer worth their salt has lagers in their home fridge, and a stash hidden away at the brewery’s walk-in cooler. Ales might rule the craft-beer space in America these days, but lagers remain many brewer’s true love.

Still, craft beer in America was born on the backs of ales, made with top-fermenting yeast, that were aggressively hop forward. Later, flavorings from fruits and food items became more popular. Lagers and pilsners were the beers made using bottom-fermenting yeast by the “big breweries” like Miller, Budweiser, Heineken and Pabst.

Technically perfect, these big-name beers often lack soul and rely on marketing to create a brand identity. From the beaches of Corona to the ice-cold Coors mountains, they undoubtedly do the job in a pinch.

Now, as the American craft-brewery industry has grown and matured, many are turning to lager production. Among other things, this type of production means dedicated tank space for up to seven weeks of maturation, versus the two weeks or less it takes to turn around an IPA.

The shift to lagers makes sense for many smaller breweries, as it helps get non-craft drinkers something familiar in their glass. Most producers are sticking to tradition and making German- or Czech-style lagers with simple malt bills, noble hops that offer a spicy or earthy note, and clean yeast that yields a crisp finish. Some are adding healthy doses of New World hops that give tropical fruit aromas, or leaving them unfiltered for a hazy look that is popular with IPAs these days.

Overall, the style is humble but very hard to make. Often middle of the road in terms of alcohol, they are built for session drinking and the really good ones show surprising depth in nuance. Prost!

Recommended Lagers to Try

New Realm United Craft Lager; $10/12 oz 6 pack, 96 points. Assertive carbonation brings aromas of ripe lime, lush tangerine and apricot skin to the surface. These tones come through on the palate to yield a wonderful tapestry of New World flavors with Old World respect and know-how. It finishes with a slight spice note that adds a snap to any sweetness that might have built up. All of the ingredients come together in a, yes, united way that will bring you back can after can.

Yazoo Daddy-O Pilsner; $11/12 oz 6 pack, 96 points. This is a lager of quality and intrigue that offers flavors of berry and ruby red grapefruit, with a smack of garden flowers and a little sugary sweetness. The brewery uses a relatively obscure German hop, Ariana, in the ­recipe and in doing so demonstrates that tradition can meet innovation with delightful results.

Shared by Side Project Brewing Content Moderator Lager; $16/16 oz 6 pack, 95 points. This lager is refreshing from the start. It has the balance of pilsner malt, with a slight cereal toastiness, noble hops and just a hint of orange. The yeast is crisp and adds a bit of fruity character. All that comes through immediately, though with more sips, it becomes like an old friend, a well-worn pair of jeans, the feeling of aloe after a sunburn. It’s a comfort. This should be stocked in every lager lovers fridge for every occasion.

Rockwell Beer Co. Stand By Hoppy Pilsner; $10/16 oz 4 pack, 94 points. A “hoppy pilsner” that delivers on both without allowing the former to overwhelm the latter. Responsibly dosed without a residual hop bitterness, it has a juicy character of tropical fruit, with a touch of orange and even a little earthiness. Some lagers can grab your palate’s attention from the first sip and hold it through until the end, and this is one of them.

Tröegs Sunshine Pilsner; $11/12 oz 6 pack, 94 points. All the ingredients in this beer work in harmony. The yeast is bright and snappy, the malt is soft, with a bit of bread crust flavor, the hops are noble with a pleasing bitterness on the finish, and the water binds it all together. A go-to beer no matter the situation.

Maine Beer Co. Black Barn Program No. 9; $6/16.9 oz, 93 points. This is a rustic pilsner that comes across as rough around the edges, which only contributes to its charm. The grain isn’t as polished as some, which gives it a farmhouse feel, while the hops are mostly muted, with the occasional flash of spice, lime and grapefruit pith. Let it warm up a bit and there is a whiff of white peach fuzz. Picture a farm as the sun is beginning its journey downwards towards the horizon. This is the beer for that situation, however this was a one-off beer in a rotating series.

Notch Zwickel Beer; $12/16 oz 6 pack, 93 points. This is zippy in a spicy pepper note that brings a little charm to each sip. It relies heavily on a clean malt profile to bring you from the first swallow to the last, with a slight toasted-cereal-grain and grassy flavor. Traditionally, a beer like this is poured from the tanks direct to brewery customers; lucky for us, this lightly hazy lager is now available in cans.

Threes Brewing Vliet Pilsner; $14/16 oz 6 pack, 93 points. Golden in color, with a bit of haze and a mousse-like head, this pilsner finds a way to make both the crackery, bready, crusty malt and the spicy, floral and earthy hops stand out as the star. It has a clean, dry finish and only the slightest bite of hops.

Jack’s Abby Post Shift Pilsner; $10/16 oz 6 pack, 92 points. Maybe it’s the name, but this beer feels like a sigh of relief. It’s high in carbonation, with a little twinge of lemony hops on the aroma and finish. In between is a crisp, refreshing lager that has a soft quality around the edges. It is a reward for a job well done and a gateway to a restful time or fun evening out.

Winemakers are an adventurous bunch who love getting out into the natural world, and not just to spend time in the vineyard. Surrounded by northern California’s beautiful nature preserves and miles of Pacific Ocean coastline, most Napa or Sonoma producers will openly gush about more than a few favorite trails and outdoor retreats. Read on to see how they get away from it all.

Mount Veeder/Photo by Jake Stangel

Alexandre Remy

A marathoner, Napa-based Remy loves Oat Hill Mine Trail in Calistoga for mountain biking. It’s “technical, challenging and [has] some of the best views of the valley.” For trail running, he heads to Skyline Wilderness Park, near to Atlas’s office. His favorite destination for family hikes is Westwood Hills Park in Napa. “The spider tree is a favorite for the kids to climb on.” Another great choice, Limantour Beach is a hidden gem close to Point Reyes Station that has great sand dunes. As for road biking, “nothing can beat the classic Mount Veeder loop. My favorite way is to do it clockwise.”

Spring Mountain Road/Alamy

Alberto Bianchi

One of Bianchi’s favorite activities is to rent a boat with friends on Bodega Bay to fish for salmon, tuna and, when in season, Dungeness crab. “It’s a great way to be in touch with wild nature and also for cooking great food back home.”

For more of an athletic challenge, however, he heads to Spring Mountain Road, which connects Santa Rosa to St. Helena through the Mayacamas Mountain range. “It immerses you in nature, creeks, vineyards and the shade of the local trees. On top of the Spring Mountain appellation [where Newton is located], the view is incomparable, particularly early in the morning when the lower part of the valley is still covered with fog. It seems there is no land below you but just clouds with mountains floating.”

Bodega Bay/Photo by Dawn Heumann

Tanner Scheer

“Fishing and the outdoors have been an integral part of my life from the time I was young,” says Scheer. As an angler in Sonoma County, he feels fortunate to have so many options within daytrip distance. His personal favorite is Lake Sonoma. “I often find myself suspended in admiration of the geology all around me: sheer canyon walls riddled with bent, folded and fractured rock, enshrouded by giant redwoods. Being a kayak angler, I am able to take in all of the sights and sounds that the lake has to offer, all the while getting exercise, doing what I love to do.”

Ana Diogo-Draper

The mother of young children, Diogo-Draper’s go-to for both a good run and an easy family hike is the Russian River Valley’s River-front Regional Park. “It is an easy loop, by the water, with a beautiful little redwood grove.”

Another Sonoma County favorite is Pepperwood Preserve, where she’s a devoted member. “I first went there on a school field trip, and absolutely fell in love with the project. They brilliantly mix science and art and offer the most interesting guided hikes. It got hit by the 2017 fires, so it is definitely something that needs our support.”

Armstrong Woods/Photo by Alanna Hale

Maggie Kruse

Kruse and her family hike in Armstrong Woods State Natural Reserve, “an absolutely beautiful redwood forest. There are hiking trails for all ability levels and, in the heat of summer, it’s always a little cooler.” When Kruse has adventurous out-of-town guests, she takes them to zipline through the redwoods in Occidental. “Many people can say they have walked along the redwoods, but how many people can say they have soared above them? The views are absolutely incredible, and the staff at Sonoma Canopy Tours is very knowledgeable, safe and patient.”

Jesse Katz

Healdsburg-based Katz loves Lake Sonoma. “There are beautiful hikes, and you can rent a boat and go around the large horseshoe-shaped lake that is nine miles one way, and seven miles the other.” There’s also an amazing rope swing on the west leg of the trail, which, he says, “is just in view of one of my favorite vineyards, Rockpile Ridge, where we farm and do a single-vineyard for Devil Proof.” He likes to swim and picnic there. “I don’t get to do it often, but it’s pretty amazing to drink Devil Proof Rockpile Ridge from the lake while looking up at the stunning vineyard.”

Julie Rothberg

The mother of three-year-old twins, Rothberg’s outdoor options are generally kid-friendly and timed with her children in mind. “One of my favorite options is to put them on the back of our bikes and ride around town, pointing out cows along the way, ending at Wicked Slush in Healdsburg for a treat.” Foothills Regional Park in Windsor, close to her home, is ideal for hiking with or without kids. “By myself, I like the challenging steep hill paths which are often pretty empty, and, with the kids, we turn it into a nature scavenger hunt.”

Heidi von der Mehden

Von Der Mehden’s favorite place to get away is Trione-Annadel State Park. “When my husband and I first met, our Friday night ‘date’ was a run through the park, with pizza and beer afterwards at Russian River [Brewing Company].” Now, with two little boys, they hike the park instead. “I love that it transitions from open fields with giant oak trees to dense forests. We are so lucky to have it right in the middle of Santa Rosa with so many neighborhood access points.”

Wine Enthusiast encourages readers to be safe and follow federal and local regulations as it pertains to travel and social engagement. We’ll continue to report on the coronavirus pandemic as it pertains to the world of wine, as well as offer stories and resources for your wine-travel needs for when it is clear to get back out and about.

Natural wine is one of the great success stories of the last decade. It began as an unofficial movement in France in the late 1980s and grew into an international phenomenon 20 or so years later.

Now, natural wine fairs are held worldwide, and most major cities either have dedicated natural wine bars, or places that feature natural wine-heavy lists.

There remains one problem. The term “natural” has no widely accepted definition in wine and, until this year, had no legal certification.

The general concept is that natural wine is made from grapes farmed organically or biodynamically. Natural winemaking uses wild yeasts and no additives, save perhaps some sulfur dioxide at bottling.

In March, the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO), France’s official agricultural organization, recognized a definition of natural wine proposed by the Syndicat de Defense des Vins Naturels, an independent group that had lobbied for certification for a decade.

The Syndicat de Defense des Vins Naturels uses a system called Vin Méthode Nature. There are two tiers of certification: those with no added sulfites, and those that add less than 30 mg/L sulfites.

The designations are a bit problematic. Yeasts can produce varying amounts of sulfites during fermentation. Some yeast strains will produce 10 mg/L or more before the wine is bottled. Despite occurring naturally, these wines would need to be labeled as containing sulfites, even though the winemaker didn’t add them artificially. It’s also not rare for yeasts to produce more than 30 mg/L of sulfur dioxide, which means that the wine cannot be certified.

News of this “official recognition” of natural wine generated lots of debate. While some see the benefits, many members of the natural wine community don’t favor certification. Few leaders of the movement describe their wines as “natural.” Many couldn’t label them as such, anyway. The term isn’t allowed on labels in the European Union.

Is certification needed? And do those that make natural wine actually want it?

“It is indeed wanted,” says Alice Feiring, a New York-based journalist and author who specializes in natural wine. “I’m often asked if there’s certification, so the consumer can choose a real one.”

INAO is not behind this certification, says Feiring. It simply reviews applicants and monitors those certified.

Winegrower Jonathan Hesford, of Domaine Treloar in Roussillon, France, likens the INAO to “a patent body” that approves applications from syndicates, or groups of growers, who want to classify their wines.

“The INAO will ask the syndicate to create a cahier des charges [specifications] for the wine, [putting] the rules and norms in place for all the others,” he says.

If the cahier is deemed rigorous enough, the INAO will authorize and police it.

A possible benefit of certification is accountability. Those producers who use the Syndicat’s official “natural wine” logo have legal obligations. People can go to prison for wine fraud in France.

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“Some of our growers are not keen that natural [wine] has become a bandwagon movement, and all sorts of people are jumping on the bandwagon without due verification of the way they farm and what they do in the winery,” says Doug Wregg, of leading London natural wine agency Les Caves de Pyrene. “Other growers will ignore this as they see it as yet another attempt to codify something that they have always done.”

Others argue the designation is opposed to the spirit of natural wine.

“Natural wine represents freedom to many of its adherents,” says Rachel Signer, editor of natural wine magazine Pipette. “The freedom to work with a vineyard that is organic in practice, but not certified, is of utmost importance to people who may be scrambling for grapes in a really tough vintage. And the freedom to make wine totally sans bureaucracy is something I really get.”

The certification could be used by companies simply in search of a commercial opportunity, says Wregg. “If natural wine is organic farming plus technique, then bigger brands can go through the motions and hit the brief.”

“That’s totally against the spirit of the movement,” says Signer. “It’s always been about passion, tenacity, camaraderie. People make natural wine because they love it, with all its oddities, drawbacks and risks.”

Romania’s Cramele Recas operates three wineries and produces 25 million bottles a year. Four years ago, Cramele Recas introduced a product called Orange Natural Wine, a big success for the company. Production is at 120,000 bottles a year and growing. Cramele Recas added a Glou Glou Natural Red to the range.

“We think these fulfill all the criteria for natural wines,” says Philip Cox, co-owner and CEO. “It is made from organic grapes with no additives, and the total sulfur dioxide is under 30 ppm. There is no filtering.”

Cox is in favor of certification. He’s approached the minister of agriculture in Romania to see whether there could be an official definition of natural wine there, too.

“With orange wines and natural wines, all the arguments seem to be about technical things,” says Cox. “How much sulfur do they have? Are you allowed to centrifuge? I’d rather have all this written down in a law, so we can actually talk about what the wine is like.”

Kevin McKenna, of New York-based natural wine agency Louis Dressner, points out that the FDA began collecting input to regulate the term “natural” in the U.S. a few years ago. According to the 2016 definition, a “natural” food has nothing artificial or synthetic included or added to it. The policy doesn’t extend to production or manufacturing methods, however, such as pesticides.

Few wine companies used the FDA’s definition except for some big-scale wineries, McKenna says. But the new French certification creates some problems.

“The criteria for the U.S. labeling for ‘natural’ does not line up with the new French regulations, so label approvals for those including a natural designation will cause some bureaucratic befuddling,” says McKenna.

California wine country has had a challenging year. The United States Department of Agriculture’s 2019 crush report indicated yet another grape-glut while consumer interest in wine continued to dwindle and the coronavirus pandemic forced tasting room closures.

Now, while wineries struggle to keep consumers engaged in the digital sphere and prepare for the slow progression of reopening brick-and-mortar establishments, California is also in the midst of one of its most important annual stretches: fire prevention season.

In March, the USDA Forest Service suspended controlled burns on land it manages throughout the country. The agency controls 18 national forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, which includes more than 20 million acres across California, where thinning dry bushland is key in wildfire prevention. The suspension was intended to prevent smoke from the burns from exacerbating respiratory difficulties of those infected with coronavirus, as well as reduce exposure to the virus for agency employees.

However, on May 1, the agency announced it will resume with prescribed burns. When asked what had changed in the weeks following the initial announcement, a USDA Forest Service spokesperson told Wine Enthusiast that the temporary suspension “afforded critical time to evaluate and obtain information on Covid-19 and begin to understand the associated risks to communities and firefighters.

“We will continue to prioritize the health and safety of communities and firefighters during this global and national emergency, and will work closely with local and state air and health organizations when considering prescribed fire operations in specific areas,” the spokesperson said.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) never ceased its fire prevention protocols, continuing with prescribed burns through the thick of the pandemic. “We are following all the CDC guidelines in terms of social distancing, but we’re still doing our burns. Preparations haven’t changed,” says Lynette Round, a Cal Fire information officer.

Cal Fire works closely with the California Air Resource Board, says Round, monitoring weather patterns, local wind conditions and field moisture. Cal Fire only burns when conditions are safe and runs smaller trial burns prior to full emissions.

With those preventative measures in place, the goal is that smoke will not invade populated areas.

Further to that effort, Cal Fire spokesman, Will Powers, said the agency is enhancing its chipping program, taking care of roadside vegetation and other fire hazards located within proximity of the public by chipping the debris instead of burning it.

Chris Godley, director of the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management, said the county’s Covid-curve is starting to flatten and he is comfortable expanding fire safety efforts. However, he called the not-too-distant future a “concurrent hazard set,” in which Sonoma will experience fire season amid Pacific Gas and Electric-forced power outages while dealing with a possible a resurgence of coronavirus. “We have to plan for the worst-case scenario,” he says.

One of Godley’s major concerns is coordinating fire evacuations in a socially distant environment. “We can’t pack people in a gym, and they can’t stay with friends or family,” he says.

The Department of Emergency Management is currently developing a revised emergency response plan, taking into consideration logistics for care and plausible options for shelters that can accommodate social distancing, including private sectors such as hotels. Godley hopes to have firm information available by August.

In the meantime, local fire authorities are doing their part to assist residents with their at-home fire prevention.

“Our intent right now is to start the inspection program using the safe social distancing and protocols in place,” says Sonoma County Fire Marshall James Williams. Most of this work is done outside and residents receive ample notice before being inspected.

Williams encourages residents whose property may be surrounded by open space and dry vegetative growth to take advantage of Cal Fire’s chipping program in order to create a border of defensible space around their homes and provide access routes for emergency vehicles in the event of a fire. Residents can apply for the program online.

Whether at the national, state, county or city level, all fire authorities made a point in stating that the health of first responders, as well as the public, is the ultimate priority. Employees are meticulously following CDC-provided guidelines to keep themselves and their communities safe.

While ice cream or sorbet becomes smooth and creamy as it simultaneously churns and freezes, granita is only stirred occasionally, which results in a crunchy and refreshing texture. You can also let it freeze solid, then scrape the surface with a fork.

Pinot Noir, Merlot or Rioja all yield good results. Serve it in wine or cocktail glass garnished with blackberries and a mint sprig.

]]>The Best Cellars for Any Amount of Winehttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/18/best-wine-cellars-guide/
Mon, 18 May 2020 22:14:01 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54365Getty

Whether you just pick up a few bottles a week, or have been carefully collecting for decades, when you’ve got wine in the house, you’re going to need a safe place to put it. Here are some ways to help determine what kind of storage system you need, and how to best take care of your wine.

For Everyday Drinkers

Maybe you’re someone who grabs a few bottles a week at your local wine shop, or even a couple of cases. Your main goal is to sip and enjoy your wine, not age or collect it.

Even for a small collection of 20 or fewer bottles, protecting wine from its mortal enemies—heat and light—is necessary to get the most out of every glass. Heat and light tend to be prevalent in places you might want to stash your bottles, such as on an open rack in your kitchen or living room. A small wine cooler maintains ideal temperatures, can help protect from UV rays and be situated just about anywhere in an apartment or house.

For Small Collections

If you plan to age bottles in your collection for a year or more, you need to think about humidity in addition to heat and light. Humidity is paramount to keep corks moist. If they start to dry out, then oxygen gets to the wine and irreparably damages it.

Other concerns for longer-aged collections are odor and vibration. Cigar or cigarette smoke, cooking smells and even scented cleaning products can make their way past corks and into bottles over time. Wine doesn’t like to be shaken up or moved much either. Look for wine fridges with air filters to protect your juice as it ages, and cooling systems that cause minimal to no additional vibration.

For Big-Name Labels

Maybe you have a collection of valuable wines with big-name labels, and you want everyone to see them. And why not? There’s no reason not to flaunt your Screaming Eagle, Pétrus, Château Margaux, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Gaja bottles in all their glory.

For these collections, you’ll want to make sure your best labels are displayed and accentuated by great lighting. Of course, you still need to ensure that you have a wine cooler/cellar that offers the all-around best protection, as chances are you will be aging some of those wines for the long haul as well.

For Very Serious Collections

If your collection ranges from 100–1,000 bottles or more, you might keep them all at home or in an offsite storage facility. You may have bought some on wine trips around the world or picked up others with the intention of storing for years.

This type of expansive collection has both sentimental and financial value. You’ll need some sort of personal organization system with labels, spreadsheets and tags to keep track of what you have, where it’s located and the best time to drink it. You can create your own custom cellar with a professional consultant or buy a top-of-the-line readymade version to keep your collection in prime condition.

Ordinarily, Napa Valley would be packed this time of year. Visitors come for its Mediterranean climate, world-renowned resorts and restaurants, and hospitable wineries, which receive 3.8 million guests per year.

Alas, America’s most famous wine region remains sheltered in place, while the essential duties of agricultural and cellar work carry on.

Just 30 miles long and a few miles across, Napa Valley is about an hour north of San Francisco. With just one-sixth of the planted acreage of Bordeaux, it produces 4% of California’s overall wine grapes. Yet, it looms large in the minds of wine consumers everywhere.

Most famous for Cabernet Sauvignon, it also grows Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Zinfandel, among other varieties, and is deeply committed to its agricultural heritage.

With 16 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) that stretch from San Pablo Bay north to Mount St. Helena, and with high-elevation mountains on either side, Napa Valley offers plenty of diversity within its compact frame.

Here, we highlight a handful of its regions and detail a few ongoing virtual tastings that will bring a piece of Napa to you.

Bouchaine, Carneros / Photo by Michael Hospelt

Carneros

Carneros is Napa Valley’s coolest appellation, influenced by wind and fog that bring cold air in from the Pacific Ocean. It’s also the only appellation to straddle both Napa and Sonoma counties, with Sonoma to its west.

Carneros is known for producing quite a bit of sparkling wine from its vast plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Still versions of both also thrive alongside pockets of cool-climate Merlot, Syrah, Albariño and other less-common reds and whites.

Set along low, rolling hills with mostly shallow clay-loam soils, Carneros’s best-known vineyards include Hyde and Hudson. Domaine Carneros is among the finest sparkling wine houses here, while other producers (on the Napa side) include Artesa, Bouchaine, Saintsbury and Etude.

Bouchaine B Live Virtual Wine Tastings – Winemaker 101, 201 and 301

Bouchaine is a premier producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, plus smaller offerings of Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. It relies on both estate-grown fruit and fellow Carneros growers like Hyde and Las Brisas.

You can schedule a virtual tasting from a choice of three experiences. A set of wines will be shipped to you, and the tasting will be led by a private host in view of the Bouchaine vineyards.

Coombsville

A small appellation east of the city of Napa, this corner of Napa Valley sees few visitors, but it produces exceptional wines. Ringed by a west-facing mountain range, this caldera is the result of an ancient collapsed volcano. Its rocky, volcanic soils drain into porous compressed ash.

While the soils give it a unique edge, Coombsville is also relatively cold, thanks to early morning fog and afternoon winds that come off the San Pablo Bay. During the height of growing season, it’s usually around 10ºF cooler here than most of Napa Valley, with the exception of Carneros.

Winemakers love the acidity that the grapes retain. Haynes Vineyard, recently bought by Gaylon Lawrence Jr., who also owns Heitz Cellar, produces a small amount of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. However, the bulk of Coombsville’s fame is tied to Cabernet Sauvignon, thanks to producers like Meteor, Farella, Realm, Di Costanzo, Favia, Covert, Lail and Caldwell.

Blend Your Own Meteor Wine at Home with Virtual Tasting Blending Session

Meteor makes only two wines, both estate Cabernets, from its Coombsville site. The vines were planted in 1999 to three distinct clone and rootstock combinations. Through Oct. 30, the winery offers a Clone Project three-pack to blend at home under the virtual guidance of a winemaker or estate director.

Stags Leap District

The region was famous after the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” tasting, when Winiarski’s Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet was selected as the best in the world. This AVA has volcanic soils that sit at the base of the Stags Leap Palisades, a steep outcrop of the Vaca Range on Napa Valley’s eastern side.

The outcroppings funnel airflow from the San Pablo Bay, which help the grapes build acidity. They also reflect the afternoon sun, which contributes power and structure to the wines.

Winemakers often describe Stags Leap District Cabernet as an iron fist in a velvet glove, and the wines can indeed be silky in texture, with pretty aromatics of violet and cherry.

Along with Winiarski, the appellation is associated with the late John Shafer, founder of Shafer Vineyards, who helped draw the AVA’s boundaries in 1989. A region planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shafer’s well-known neighbors include Clos du Val, Chimney Rock, Realm, Odette Estate and Cliff Lede Vineyards.

There’s also Stags’ Leap Winery, which battled with Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in the courts over use of the “Stags Leap” name. Where the apostrophe is placed is important.

#StayHome with Stags’ Leap Winery Virtual Wine Tastings

Known for Petite Sirah as much as for Cabernet Sauvignon, the historic winery at the foot of the Palisades holds virtual tastings Thursdays at 3 pm Pacific. Discussions not only center on the winery, but the AVA as well, with different wines featured every week. The tastings are offered through Dec. 31.

Oakville

One of Napa Valley’s most famous appellations, Oakville is home to the likes of Harlan Estate, the Mondavi Reserve blocks, Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard and Martha’s Vineyard, among others. The wineries are equally recognizable, from Screaming Eagle, Cardinale, Silver Oak, Groth and PlumpJack to Rudd and Opus One.

Robert Mondavi chose the west side of Oakville to establish his namesake winery in 1966, and it’s served as a beacon of history, quality and hospitality ever since. The To Kalon Vineyard dates to 1868, while the stone Far Niente Winery was originally founded in 1885, abandoned during Prohibition and brought back to life by Gil Nickel in 1979.

A bottle of Far Niente 1886 Sweet Muscat found in a private cellar during the 1990s is thought to be the oldest intact bottle of California wine.

Far Niente Private Virtual Wine Tastings

Surrounded by the 57-acre Martin Stelling Vineyard, Far Niente offers custom tastings and consultations with its stable of wine educators through Dec. 31. Known for ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, the company also farms the 42-acre John C. Sullenger Vineyard in Oakville and several sites in Coombsville.

Rutherford

Just north of Oakville, Rutherford has fertile soils and ecological diversity. Warmer on average than anywhere south, this is undoubtedly Cabernet Sauvignon country.

The appellation’s lineage is long. Finnish sea captain Gustave Niebaum established Inglenook in 1879, while Georges de Latour bought what would become Beaulieu Vineyard in the early 1900s.

Russian-born viticulturalist and enologist André Tchelistcheff created Georges de Latour Private Reserve in 1940, Napa Valley’s first cult Cabernet. Tchelistcheff is believed to have made this statement: “It takes Rutherford dust to grow great Cabernet.”

Beaulieu and Inglenook endure, the latter owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola since 1975, when he bought the property with earnings from the first two Godfather films. Caymus and Quintessa dominate on the eastern side of Rutherford, while on the western benches near Inglenook sit Tres Sabores, Staglin and Scarecrow.

Tres Sabores Online Wine Tasting Series with Julie Johnson

Owner/Winemaker Julie Johnson founded Tres Sabores in 1999. She also helped launch Frog’s Leap Winery with her ex-husband, John Williams, and partner Larry Turley.

In addition to Cab, she makes a lovely Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc and the sought-after ¿Por Que No? red blend, or what she likes to call “a party in a glass.” The tastings focus on food and wine, as chefs or Julie talk about food pairings and recipes. Johnson is a devoted organic gardener and cook.

Sauvignon Blanc’s popularity is undeniable. This green-skinned French grape became synonymous with New Zealand, where herbaceous, zesty bottlings from Marlborough turned Sauvignon Blanc into a household name.

Today, consumers can explore modern classics from Napa Valley and New Zealand, or compare wines from the historic regions of Bordeaux and the Loire Valley.

Sauvignon Blanc shows a range of flavors and textures, which depend on its origin, climate and how it’s aged. Bottlings range from lean and herbaceous to full-bodied and tropical. A side-by-side analysis is the best way to recognize such characteristics.

Organize your tasting by three key categories: Old World Bordeaux versus Old World Loire Valley; New World New Zealand versus New World Napa Valley; and unoaked versus oaked. As you taste, search for aromas and flavors, but also think about texture. Does the Sauvignon Blanc’s acidity appear sharp? Or does the wine feel round and creamy?

Of course, you’ll need to pick up a few bottles, so we’ve included tips on what to seek out. Feel free to ask your retailer for exact bottle recommendations.

Old World Bordeaux vs. Old World Loire Valley

France is Sauvignon Blanc’s homeland. Experts believe the grape originated in Bordeaux, where it’s blended typically with Sémillon to make white wine.

Bordeaux’s white wines remain among the world’s great underrated bottlings. The union between Sauvignon Blanc, known for its aromatics and acidity, and Sémillon for body and texture, has been copied by winemakers around the world.

Flavors in Bordeaux’s white wines range from citrus, hay and herbs to peaches, pears, figs, honey and nuts. Fruity, easy-drinking versions are common to Entre-Deux-Mers.

Producers in the Left Bank appellations of Pessac-Léognan and Graves are better known for aging their versions in oak barrels. They create elegant, structured offerings that can mature beautifully for years.

Bordeaux vs. Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc FlightWine 1: Look for white wines from the Bordeaux appellations of Pessac-Léognan, Graves or Entre-Deux-Mers. Your retailer can point you in the right direction to find a bottling that leans heavy on Sauvignon Blanc.Wine 2: Seek out a Sancerre to discover quintessential Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

In the New World, wines are labeled by variety, while the French do so by region. For example, many consumers don’t realize that Sancerre is Sauvignon Blanc. Yet, Sancerre from the Loire Valley, along with Pouilly-Fumé, has produced varietal Sauvignon Blanc for centuries.

Subtle differences emerge between these competing appellations in the Loire Valley, though wines generally have precision and purity not found elsewhere. In general, these wines are flinty and herbaceous, with grapefruit and grass aromas. Notes of smoke can appear in some Pouilly-Fumé bottlings. The Loire’s cool climate imparts wines with freshness, while it also restrains alcohol levels.

Ripe Sauvignon Blanc on the vine/Getty

New World New Zealand vs. New World Napa Valley

Most critics credit New Zealand with Sauvignon Blanc’s rise to stardom. Given how quickly it shot to the top, it’s surprising that Marlborough, on New Zealand’s South Island, didn’t have a single Sauvignon Blanc grape until 1973.

By the 1980s, New Zealand had become the variety’s New World home. In 1986, Cloudy Bay’s debut put the region on the map. The brand’s global success is a case study in marketing achievement.

The distinct wines of Marlborough are as much the result of terroir as an intentional style. Dry, sunny conditions in an otherwise cool-climate region contribute to the wine’s trademark freshness and flavor.

Zesty in high acidity, aromas include gooseberry, elderflower, green pepper, lemongrass and grapefruit. The aromatic intensity of Kiwi Savvy B is so pungent that you can smell it a foot away.

Though there are many fantastic wines that carry the fingerprint of site and individual winemakers, Marlborough leaned on a globally accepted method of production. It entails machine-picked grapes that are fermented in stainless steel, with the wines bottled and released young. They offer clean, lively drinking at an affordable price.

New Zealand vs. Napa Sauvignon Blanc FlightWine 1: Seek out an unoaked New Zealand option from Marlborough to explore the style that started the Sauvignon Blanc craze.Wine 2: Ask for an unoaked Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley or one of its many subappellations (like Oak Knoll District or Rutherford).

Many New World producers have tried to copy New Zealand’s success. Napa Valley’s distinct style, however, evolved from Robert Mondavi’s early efforts in the famous To Kalon vineyard planted in the late 1960s. Today, Sauvignon Blanc is the second most planted white grape in Napa County, right after Chardonnay.

Napa Valley has similar dry and sunny weather compared to Marlborough, but a warmer overall climate. This enables the grapes to fatten on the vine. Plump with sugar, Napa’s Sauvignon Blanc ferments into bigger, riper, higher-alcohol wines.

Citrus and red grapefruit give the impression of freshness as a foil to the wine’s richness and fullness. Other flavors include melon, hay and herbs like basil and mint. Many Napa producers play with old and new oak, lees stirring and other techniques in fermentation and aging that create complexity and texture.

Unoaked vs. Oaked

From France to Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc expresses the terroir of its site. However, the winemaker shapes its final taste. The vessel in which the wine ferments and matures plays a part in that.

Stainless steel preserves primary fruit flavors and aromas. It also prevents oxidation, due to its impermeability. Sauvignon Blanc aged in stainless steel will be fresh, clean and fruit-forward. Though New Zealand first employed stainless steel for the variety, many producers now explore how to add more dimension through barrel-aging and related techniques.

The most famous oaked Sauvignon Blanc in America is Robert Mondavi’s series of Fumé Blanc. Mondavi created the style when American consumers eschewed herbaceous, tart wines. The name, Fumé Blanc, references Pouilly Fumé in the Loire Valley.

Though oak barrels go in and out of style with Sauvignon Blanc, there are a few reasons to use them. Oak creates texture, adds flavor and encourages malolactic fermentation (MLF).

Unoaked vs. Oaked Sauvignon Blanc FlightWine 1 & Wine 2: Ask your retailer to provide one oaked Sauvignon Blanc and one unoaked version, ideally from the same region so you can compare across the styles without comparing regional differences. Both examples can be commonly found in regions like California, New Zealand and South Africa.

Winemakers generally employ used barrels that no longer impart flavor to create palate breadth and creaminess in Sauvignon Blanc. The porosity of the wood allows for micro-oxygenation of the wine. Leaving the lees (dead yeast) in the barrel and stirring them occasionally (bâtonnage) gives Sauvignon Blanc a rounder, fuller body.

If a winemaker wants to add subtle flavor, they do so with new oak. The toast level of the wood determines its impact on the wine. Typical flavors include vanilla, nutmeg and clove.

Sauvignon Blanc has high acidity, which winemakers often tame with barrels. Because barrels don’t control temperature, they provide an environment for MLF to take place as the wine warms. MLF turns tart malic acid into softer, creamier lactic acid, which reduces the impression of sharpness.

Thus, flavor, structure and price will be the key differences between unoaked and oaked Sauvignon Blanc wines.

]]>Vintage Punch Recipes that Make Drinking at Home Feel Like a Partyhttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/16/best-punch-recipes-home/
Sat, 16 May 2020 11:00:25 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=53652Photo by Tom Arena

Fragrant blossoms and early strawberries spell springtime like nothing else. Before the days of air shipping, the arrival of those items heralded longer light and the end of winter, which, naturally, called for parties. More often than not, a punch was a fitting and fizzing centerpiece.

That’s why we turned to vintage cookbooks to help you capture the feeling at home. Here’s to retro springtime magic.

Strawberry Punch

Built in a large pitcher, rather than a bowl, this punch can gets some added sweetness from grape juice. If your strawberries are perfectly ripe and sweet, however, you may not need to tweak what will already be a bright, lush beverage.

Adapted from The Cold Table, by Helen Simpson (Jonathan Cape, 1935)

Purée 4 pounds strawberries in blender. Pass purée through sieve, and pour juice into large jug with 2 cups grape juice, if using, and 1 bottle dry Riesling. Add lemon juice, to taste. Mix well and chill in refrigerator. To serve, add 1 bottle Champagne or Cava, and garnish each glass with whole strawberry.

Maibowle

The key to and truly seasonal ingredient in this traditional German May Punch spritz is called woodruff (Galium odoratum). It’s a fragrant herb that must be gathered before flowering. Look for it at farmers markets or specialty stores, or buy a small potted plant at your local nursery.

The original recipe doesn’t have strawberries, but a few slices add a touch of color.

Place 10 sprigs fresh woodruff in punchbowl. Add half bottle of dry Riesling, and allow woodruff to infuse for 1 hour. Remove woodruff and discard. To serve, add remaining dry Riesling, 1 bottle of Riesling sekt and a 750-ml bottle sparkling water. Sweeten to taste with gomme or simple syrup, if desired. Garnish with more woodruff and strawberry slices.

]]>How to Stir a Cocktail Correctly, According to a Bartenderhttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/15/cocktail-stir-how-to-bartender/
Fri, 15 May 2020 15:00:29 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54292Animation by Eric DeFreitas

Stirred or shaken? Not many bars will ever actually ask you this question. Recipes are usually quite clear about this. But these two ways to mix a drink are still cornerstones of bartending.

Recently, we showed you a simple catch-all bartending formula to create a cocktail in the sour family of drinks—those that are shaken and include lemon or lime juice. Here, we’ll cover how to successfully stir a drink in the spirits-forward category like martinis, Manhattans and Negronis.

There are two main concepts you need to know as you stir a cocktail: the technique, and how long to do it.

The proper technique to stir a cocktail

The basic equipment required to make a stirred cocktail is a mixing glass and a barspoon.

While there are plenty of fancy, specialized cocktail mixing glasses, some with pour spouts or made from heavy, decorative crystal, the trusty pint/Boston glass is standard at many bars. A julep strainer fits inside it perfectly, and they’re fairly affordable, so you don’t have to worry if you drop one on the floor.

A barspoon is a long-handled teaspoon, generally with the handle twisted into a spiral shape to allow it to spin easily in your hand. The opposite end of the spoon may be topped with a flat circle to press herbs or muddle, a trident to skewer garnish, or some counterweight to help create a smooth momentum while stirring.

In a mixing glass, add your ingredients and fill with ice. Place the spoon an inch or two into the ice, but not all the way to the bottom, or even touching the liquid. The less weight you have to push, the more seamless your stir.

The standard cocktail stir, with spoon loosely held between the middle and ring fingers / Getty

Make sure that the back of the spoon is in contact with the inside of the mixing glass. Move the spoon around the inner surface of the glass and rotate the ice into a smooth vortex. Never clink the ice or cause the spoon to lose contact with the side of the glass. Disturb the ice as a little as possible as you rotate it to prevent ice chips or to cause your drink to overdilute.

The classic bartender method is to hold the spoon’s handle near the top. Take a loose grip between the first and second knuckles of the middle and ring fingers. With a bit of practice, you can stir a drink quickly just simply by moving the two fingers back and forth, as the spiral handle allows the spoon to spin easily in your hand without ever requiring a firm grip.

However, experiment to find which technique works best for you. If you feel more comfortable and get a better spin with the spoon tucked into the crook between your thumb and index finger, no one’s going to judge you.

How long should I stir a drink?

There’s an old “gotcha” question often used to train new bartenders: What are the main ingredients in a martini?

Most new recruits will quickly reply gin and dry vermouth. Grizzled veterans will stare at them silently, possibly with arms folded. After a few beats of awkward silence, the seasoned bartender will tell them what they missed: water.

There’s a misconception that the ice used to chill a cocktail is there solely to make it colder. While it does lower the temperature of a drink and ensures its components are well incorporated, many forget that it adds an extra ingredient: the water that melts as the ice is stirred.

Such dilution reduces the heat and strong flavor of alcohol, which can bring out aromas and flavors that might otherwise be overpowered. It’s much the way whiskey connoisseurs may choose add a splash of water to Scotch to “open it up.”

When a bartender stirs your martini or Manhattan for what may seem like an excessively long time, chances are they’re doing it to reach a desired flavor, not temperature.

While exact times vary depending on the drink, you’re usually in good territory if you stir a drink for 30–45 seconds. That’s long enough for the drink to reach its ideal temperature where dilution mostly levels off. Some bars insist a perfect martini must be stirred 60–75 seconds, while others opt for less. However, 30 seconds is a good bet for a properly balanced drink.

Amount of water added to a cocktail based on stir time

We’ve tested how much water ends up in your drink depending on time stirred, based off a cocktail that uses a standard three ounces of alcohol at room temperature. Results may vary based on type of ice, mixing vessel used, and whether or not you have air conditioning running on a warm day.

15 seconds: 1 ounce water added

30 seconds: 1¼ ounces water

45 seconds: 1½ ounces water

60 seconds: 1¾ ounces water

The best way to find the optimal stir time is to taste your drink at various intervals and find what works best for you. Shorter stir times produce stronger-tasting drinks. If you prefer your martini or Manhattan possess more subtle aromas and flavors that emphasize the floral or fruity notes of the liquor, you may prefer a longer stir. The actual amount of alcohol never changes, just what you taste.

In December, James Tilbrook evacuated his winery in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. He was building a solar-powered, carbon-neutral facility beside his 10-acre vineyard when the fires came five days before Christmas.

After the blaze subsided that evening, Tilbrook returned to utter devastation. Ninety percent of his vineyard burned, as did his winery, sheds, equipment and wine stock.

The Adelaide Hills blaze damaged one-third of the region’s vineyards, 2,718 acres in all, and affected 60 producers. Tilbrook Estate, which makes 15,000 bottles per year, was among the worst hit.

“Initially, we were in a state of shock,” he says. “People asked me what they could do to help. It was too soon. And anyway, how do you clean up 20 years of hard work, memories and dreams?”

With the help of 270 volunteers, he finally began to prune and hydrate scorched vines and pull out melted irrigation lines. An electrician volunteered for two days to reconnect the estate’s power.

Many Australian wine professionals have had a particularly hard year. As they picked up the pieces from massive wildfires that ravaged 12 million acres, they were blindsided by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In mid-March, as most winemakers harvested, the Australian government issued nationwide restrictions. Winemakers adopted strict social distancing protocols. Bars, restaurants and winery tasting rooms closed, a tough blow to small producers who make more than half of their revenue from direct-to-consumer sales.

Many winemakers are still wrapping their heads around the vintage that never was. His vineyards charred, Tilbrook couldn’t harvest fruit from any healthy vines. The estate will produce no wine from its own vineyards this year.

“We were in the impossible situation of [asking ourselves], ‘What was the priority and what was important?’,” asked Tilbrook. “All of it. But we had to make a decision, and the decision was to concentrate on keeping the vines alive and to get them to shoot again.”

Through donations from other wineries and some purchased fruit, Tilbrook bottled and sold a small amount of wine from a makeshift tasting room for a short time.

“Our sales dropped when the restrictions first started,” he says. “And then [sales] plummeted when tastings were banned.”

Preparing to harvest Riesling at Clonakilla in the Canberra District / Photo by David Reist

The wildfires also hit Clonakilla, which produces 200,000 bottles per year in the Canberra District, which straddles Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales.

“Over the last two years, we have been through the worst drought in living memory,” says Tim Kirk, the CEO/chief winemaker. “A lightning strike here, a cigarette butt there, and the whole east coast seemed to catch fire.”

After the fires were extinguished, Clonakilla sat beneath a haze of black smoke.

“I’m told there was one day when Canberra was officially the most polluted city in the world,” says Kirk. “This in a city celebrated for the purity of its crisp, cool-climate air.”

Like many of his nearby colleagues, his crop was threatened by smoke taint, where grape skins absorb smoke compounds that bind to the sugars and create an ashy taste.

“We sent samples of a number of different grape varieties off to the Australian Wine Research Institute for analysis,” says Kirk. “When the numbers came back, we knew we were in trouble. Across the board, our various samples showed very high levels of smoke taint.”

Clonakilla was forced to write off the entire vintage.

Then, coronavirus arrived and “put a pandemic-sized hole through how we do business,” says Kirk. Clonakilla now focuses on ecommerce and wholesale, which Kirk says remain steady.

In the Adelaide Hills, Tilbrook reports sales up 50% on his website, compared to just 5% one year ago.

Tilbrook Estate has to rebuild its facility / Photo courtesy of Tilbrook

Outside Sydney, in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, large producers like Tyrrell’s Wines and Brokenwood have claimed losses of up to 80% from smoke taint. The figure similar for the entire region, according to the Hunter Valley Wine & Tourism Association trade group.

The wildfires burned in the Hunter Valley from October until the end of January. Adrian Sparks, chief winemaker at Mount Pleasant Winery, remembers the moment in November when two fires combined into a massive blaze just seven miles from the operation.

“That was the fire that broke us,” he says. “There was thick smoke every day for over two months. Some days, your eyes would water, people would be coughing, and there were reports it was like smoking a packet of cigarettes a day.

“Black ash and debris would fill swimming pools, the sky would be orange with haze, and you couldn’t see the mountain range from less than [1,300 feet] away.”

Mount Pleasant produces 500,000 bottles per year from some of Australia’s most treasured, historic vines. Sparks and his team declared a total crop loss due to smoke taint.

“I think the decision to not pick was probably the right one for us, being a slightly larger company with backing,” says Sparks. Mount Pleasant’s parent company is McWilliam’s. “If we didn’t have that backing or were smaller, I still think we wouldn’t have picked. However, we would have looked at sourcing other fruit elsewhere to supplement the income.”

Mount Pleasant has an extensive museum program, giving them stock to sell. With the winery’s tasting room shut down, that’s more crucial than ever.

“We have lost all face-to-face contact sales,” says Sparks. “But there has been a huge shift to our website, with the online store having its busiest month since our new website went live 12 months ago.”

Clonakilla has also turned to its catalog program. “We will take other measures such as delaying the release of our 2019 reds by six months and then bringing forward the release of the 2021 vintage to cover the gap,” says Kirk.

James Tilbrook’s small-scale operation, however, doesn’t have that option. It will likely take a minimum of two years to rebuild his winery and restore his vineyards. Operations affected by smoke taint alone can likely bounce back next year, provided life returns to normal.

“Even with all the grants, all the insurance, all the fundraising, as well as wine sales, we still are worse off,” says Tilbrook. “It’s not just the financial side, it’s the emotional toll, seeing a large part of your life’s work literally go up in smoke.”

“We live in hope that the relatively low numbers of coronavirus infections and the very low death rate in Australia are a sign that the beginning of the gradual return to healthy communal life, including a restoration of cellar door tastings and sales, a favorite pastime for many Australians, is weeks rather than months away,” adds Kirk.

As winter approaches and pruning commences, field workers, who are unable to travel from abroad or even between states, are in short supply. Some wineries are training kitchen and dining staffs to perform fieldwork.

Adaptability is part of being a winegrower, says Tilbrook. “I guess farmers have always been a tough bunch of people. You have to be, with everything that nature throws at you.”

]]>Portuguese White Wine is More Than Vinho Verdehttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/15/portuguese-white-wines/
Fri, 15 May 2020 11:00:10 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54280Sipping white wine on the Douro River in Porto, Portugal/Getty

Portuguese producers make charming white wines from native grapes that are perfect for sunny afternoons. In the northern region of Vinho Verde, the variety Alvarinho flourishes alongside Loureiro. Both create crisp, and often lightly effervescent, wines. In Vinho Verde, look for bottles from the Minho Valley, often considered Alvarinho’s true home.

Slightly inland lies the Douro Valley, which is most famous for powerful red blends. The Douro does also produce mineral-driven white blends from grapes grown on the mountain sides. South of Lisbon, winemakers battle the heat in Alentejano to produce top wines from Arinto and Alvarinho, with a few offerings from international varieties.

These 10 bottles can help you explore the terrior of Portugal’s white wines.

Aveleda 2018 Solos de Xisto Alvarinho (Minho); $20, 92 points. The schist soil of this Alvarinho vineyard has given a strongly mineral while also rich wine. It is finely textured, while also having great apple and green-plum fruits. This is a style that could age further and the wine will be best from 2021. Aveleda Inc. Editors’ Choice. —Roger Voss

Quinta da Raza 2019 Avesso (Vinho Verde); $17, 91 points. Regarded as one of the potentially top grapes in the Vinho Verde mix, Avesso is at home in the southern Vinho Verde region close to the Douro. The wine is rich, ripe with its pear and apricot fruits, perfumed and already delicious. It will be better in a few months, so drink from late 2020. OZ Wine Company. —R.V.

]]>Understanding Wind, an Underappreciated Part of Winehttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/14/wind-wine-vineyard/
Thu, 14 May 2020 15:00:13 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54238Illustration by Julia Lea

Most winds that sweep through the world’s vineyards bring both positive and negative results for winegrowers, often depending on the time of the season in which they blow. Whatever happens, you often can taste “the wind” in your glass.

Whether a gentle breeze or howling tempest, wind is generally an underappreciated part of a vineyard’s terroir. Unlike soil, sun and location, you can’t see wind. Yet, winds are very important to the quality and quantity of the wine.

In the U.S., we seldom give names to winds, but Europeans and Asians have honored them with almost human characteristics.

Perhaps most famous, the Mistral powers down through the vineyards of the Rhône Valley, then fans out into parts of Provence and Languedoc. The Sirocco is the fierce, often sand-filled wind that blows off the Sahara Desert and flies north through the island vineyards of the Mediterranean.

“The old people say, ‘The Mistral can destroy grapes, but overall, it saves grapes,’” says Victor Coulon, whose family owns Domaine de Beaurenard in Châteauneuf-du-Pape just outside of Avignon.

That duality can be observed in vineyards around the world. Winds can cause the most damage in spring, do the most good in the weeks before harvest and have mixed results during summer.

In the springtime, when tender shoots and buds can be killed by frost, air movement through the vines can ward off freezing for a few degrees. For one recent vintage, grape growers at Cloudy Bay and other Marlborough producers brought in a fleet of helicopters to hover over the vines in the cold, early dawn hours to circulate air.

In Argentina, the Zonda wind blows in from the Pacific Ocean and down over the Andes Mountains.

“When Zonda blows in Mendoza, it produces a quick increase of the temperature and drops the humidity to almost zero,” says Franco Bastias, chief agronomist for Domaine Bousquet. It helps to hold back freezing temperatures that creep north from Patagonia.

Wind machines, like this one in British Columbia, Canada, help to protect a vineyard from frost damage./Getty

But spring winds can also do a lot of damage. On the Sicilian island of Pantelleria, winds from Africa during the late spring often influence crop size.

“Pantelleria is only 38 nautical miles from Africa,” says Antonio Rallo, whose family owns Donnafugata. “Between March and May, the wind can be insidious. The more intense, the less will be the quantity of the shoots whose flowers will grow into berries, and the fewer clusters of berries, the scarcer the harvest will be.”

The scenario flips in summer, when humidity in most vineyards rises. Rainstorms are common.

“Wind and sun are nature’s antibiotics, and wind dries things out more quickly after a rain,” says Ed Boyce, co-owner/winemaker at Black Ankle Vineyards in Maryland. “Downy mildew, for instance, needs about six hours of wetness to establish itself, so a nice breeze after a storm can significantly reduce the incidence of disease.”

In Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Coulon says that the strong Mistral “blows away the clouds, helping our region be so sunny. The vines love it.”

In California’s Santa Lucia Highlands, cooling winds are as regular as clockwork. They begin around noon each day, from Monterey Bay and up the Salinas River Valley.

“Two things are happening during berry ripening as a result of photosynthesis,” says Steve McIntyre, owner of McIntyre Vineyards and the Monterey Pacific vineyard management company. “The first is accumulation of sugar. The higher and longer the temperature, the faster the sugar content rises in the berry. Everything else—flavor, aroma and structural precursors—is only time dependent, so higher temperatures have no impact on accumulation.

“The wind slows the process of sugar accumulation, allowing more time for all of the other goodies to accumulate in the berry, [and is] one of the reasons our growing season is so long.”

In the Sta. Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County, Matt Dees deals with strong coastal winds up to 50 miles per hour in the vineyard from which he makes The Hilt wines.

“Clusters are smaller,” says Dees. “Skins are thicker, and the resulting wines are defined by concentration of fruit, high acidity and a powerful tannic structure, producing some of our finer wines, but often in smaller quantities.”

The vineyards in the edges of Israel’s Negev Desert also need relief from the heat.

“The westerly winds off the Mediterranean during summer serve to cool the vineyards near the end of the day,” says Eran Goldwasser, winemaker at Yatir Winery.

One of California’s newest appellations, the Petaluma Gap, became an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 2017. It’s partly defined by its “wind gap” that channels cold air from the Pacific Ocean into the interior of Sonoma and Marin counties.

“Wind dries things out from the cooling fog, and we need that window of time,” says Ria D’Aversa, farming manager for McEvoy Ranch. It’s especially important to an organic operation like McEvoy, where synthetic sprays can’t be used to kill fungus.

Winegrowers on the East Coast worry about another type of harvest wind: hurricanes that sweep up the Eastern seaboard.

Anthony Vietri, owner/winemaker at Va La Vineyards in Pennsylvania, has made wine through a few hurricanes, but one that struck just before harvest sticks out in his mind.

“That one knocked down an entire end row loaded with Pinot Grigio,” says Vietri. “We had to reset new posts with the trellises still burdened down by vines full of fruit. Not fun.”

]]>Shuttered for Covid-19, Wine Bars Find New Ways to do Businesshttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/14/wine-bars-coronavirus-shutdown/
Thu, 14 May 2020 13:00:28 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54246Book & Bottle opened three days before Florida's shelter-in-place orders went into effect./Photo by Terra Dunham

“It may have been the first time in history that a construction job finished on time,” says Dunham.

Book & Bottle was completed on March 13, received a Certificate of Occupancy on March 16, and officially opened on March 17. It was the best-case scenario for the owner, until Governor DeSantis’ orders forced the establishment to close on March 20. “The timing couldn’t have been worse, but what could we do but try to improvise and figure something out?”

It’s exactly what she and her team did, pivoting from in-house wine bar operations to a delivery service that offers two shelter-at-home staples: books and wine.

“I never thought I’d have an online store, but now I’m taking orders every which way—Facebook, Instagram, text—and delivering all across the city,” she says. “We’re trying to accommodate people in any way we can, because right now, every single order counts.”

Andrew Li of Flora’s Wine Bar, which opened three weeks before Massachusetts shut down non-essential businesses./Photo by Christopher McIntosh/Photo by Christopher McIntosh

It’s that kind of adaptability that food and drink establishments across the country are calling upon like never before in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has severely impacted the hospitality industry. And while many restaurants have been able to rethink their offerings via delivery and curbside pickup, when it comes to bars, a new question is raised: If your primary offering is wine or spirits, can you take the same measures to save your business?

The answer is complex. Situations vary from state to state, and are constantly changing. In Massachusetts, for example, alcohol delivery gets a green light if it accompanies a food purchase. Such is the case in Newton, where just weeks after being forced to close doors to their brand-new wine bar Flora’s, partner Andrew Li and team had to get creative in their delivery services. They’ve leveraged wholesale accounts to offer patrons groceries alongside wine orders.

“Right now there are many people who don’t feel comfortable taking the risk to go to a grocery store and wait in line, so it’s been a great way for us to stay engaged in the community, provide a service for our neighborhood, and remind people that we’re here,” says Li.

Splash in San Diego reopened on Feb. 15 and closed on March 19./Photo courtesy of Splash Wine Lounge

Community engagement also drives Yali Bair Ruiz. With her daughter Kelsey Bair, she opened Splash Wine Lounge in San Diego on February 15 after a six-week remodel, only to close doors one month later.

“Upon opening we hoped to be an experience- and community-based venue, and we wanted to try our best to continue that,” says Ruiz. She notes local collaborations they’re running now, like locally designed “color-your-own-labels,” along with themed wine boxes (think “Puzzle Night” and “Netflix and Chill”). The decision, Ruiz explains, has been as pragmatic from an operational standpoint as it has a marketing one.

“We knew we wouldn’t be able to sell enough bottles to match the income we were making with people in the bar, so for us, the approach has been to keep people engaged and to offer them something fun and interesting to continue that conversation, so that when we can once again safely gather, we can pick up where we left off.”

Li agrees. “We’re looking forward to what’s to come—it’s an opportunity for us to provide a service for others in the neighborhood, and to really get them excited about going out again, at a comfortable pace.”

And for Dunham, it’s the community’s reaction that continues to keep her team’s spirits high. “Everyone’s desire to support local businesses right now has surpassed our expectations,” she says. “It’s proving to us that this is what humanity is about, and that we’re going to come out of this together stronger than we were before.”

Cucumbers are such a neat trick of nature. They reach peak season in early summer, just when their crisp, cooling character is needed most. It’s the perfect time to explore less common varieties in farmers markets, like tennis ball-sized lemon cucumbers and slender, snakelike Armenian cucumbers.

While often relegated to garnish status, cucumbers can be the star of a meal, whether raw or pickled in sandwiches and salads, or sautéed, braised or roasted. They’re also a flexible match for nearly any fish, dairy, fruit or herbs. Regardless of use, the right wine can bring out some of their more subtle, complex flavors.

Bitter

Though most of a cucumber’s astringency is in the peel, it also contains a compound called cucurbitacin that lends a slight bitterness throughout. To avoid accentuating that characteristic in your wine, pick a dry, fruity white like Pinot Gris from Alsace or Oregon. Its honeyed pear and cantaloupe flavors will bash any bitter notes into submission.

Melony

Cucumbers are in the melon family, and they can have flavors akin to unripe honeydew or watermelon. The inherent melon flavors of Verdejo run from green to ripe and luscious, and the wine has crisp citrus notes that sidle up comfortably to a cucumber’s juicy crunch.

Green

A cucumber’s fresh, grassy character is why it’s often seen as a must in salads and green juices. Food-friendly Grüner Veltliner shares those green notes, which show up as everything from celery to gooseberry and tarragon. Its mouthwatering acidity will also help tease out the cucumber’s sweetness.

Watery

Like lettuce, cucumber has a high moisture content that lends a delicate, sometimes crunchy texture and a refreshing taste. Preserve this simple, elegant character with a wine that won’t overwhelm, like Muscadet. Light and savory flavors of citrus zest and seashell will play nice with cucumber’s gentler side.

]]>Millennials are Interested in Wine. Is Napa Interested in Them?https://www.winemag.com/2020/05/13/millennials-wine-drink-napa/
Wed, 13 May 2020 19:18:20 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54239Getty

Last weekend, in a New York Timesprofile on famed Napa Valley grape grower Andy Beckstoffer, he repeatedly referred to the millennial generation as “millenniums” and seemed to liken them to a plague.

Beckstoffer, 80, saw his concerns validated in a recent wine industry report by Rob McMillan of Silicon Valley Bank, which reads: “The issue of greatest concern for the wine business today is the lack of participation in the premium wine category by the large millennial generation.”

But for the generation of people born between 1981 and 1996 who work and live in the Napa Valley, it isn’t that simple. After all, 75% of millennials surveyed in 2019 said they would spend more money on wine if they had it, according to Business Insider. Perhaps the problem is less about taste and more about access.

Gina Schober, the 34-year-old owner of Sans Wine Co., thinks so. On May 9, she tweeted a Google Doc in response to the New York Times piece on Beckstoffer. “We don’t have a seat at the table to participate in either the arena of owning land or the solution to attracting consumers,” she wrote.

Schober and her husband Jake Stover rent a house in St. Helena and make canned wines from organically grown, old-vine vineyards. Schober has worked as a beverage manager and sommelier and sells wine for a premium California wine broker in addition to running Sans, while Stover operates his own vineyard management company.

To Schober, the problem with the ultrapremium Napa Valley wine industry is not the consumer, it’s the industry itself.

“Napa specifically lacks diversity,” she says. “In ownership, in experiences and in wine. Millennials care about the environment, farm-to-table, connection. With money tight, where are you going to spend your money? You want to support families, people you know, wineries where you’ve tasted with the winemaker or owner.”

“It’s not that millennials are not consuming red wine,” says Erin Di Costanzo, 40, a Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 honoree in 2013 and former sommelier and wine director who launched Di Costanzo Wines with her husband, Massimo, 40, in 2010. “Where Napa Valley fell short was so many brands started appearing only at the highest tier wanting to be on par with each other without earning that price point in the market. This was a disservice to a wine-hungry and curious community eager to consume and learn.”

The Di Costanzos don’t own land or a winery. Instead, they host guests for tastings out of a small shared office space in downtown St. Helena.

Erin remembers when she started working as the wine director at Acme Fine Wines, a specialty retailer that stocks both established and up-and-coming Napa labels. In 2008, Acme sold three or four wines priced $300 or more. Now, she says, there are more than she can count.

“It was so vital for us when we launched Di Costanzo to earn our place, overdelivering from that moment on and earning every price increase,” she adds. “We are making wine we believe in and that has endeared us to a hungry, excited and well-educated set of consumers who happen to be millennials.”

With these consumers, the personal touch has meant everything. She finds her millennial guests are eager to learn and make a personal connection.

Still, she isn’t so sure she could launch a self-funded Napa Cabernet project now, with grape prices in the Valley as high as they are. “I wonder if there will be fewer of us,” she says.

Michelle Lipa worked as the communications manager of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group before she founded Trig Collective Design and Communications, a firm that helps smaller Napa Valley producers and restaurants with brand strategy and public relations.

“I don’t think all is lost with millennials,” she says. “It’s just going to take longer for most to come to Napa because of all the financial strife, since 9/11 to the pandemic.”

And yet there are, like the Di Costanzos, still many small family producers that provide authentic, personal hospitality to visitors of all ages.

“There are families that have been here since the 1990s who haven’t changed the price of their wine,” adds Lipa. “We’ve got the food and wine at all prices, the outdoor activities. I feel like there are a large few who give a bad reputation to all.”

Prior to joining Wine Enthusiast, Marco Bruno designed video games in Vancouver, British Columbia, after studying computer science at Fordham University. He is a New York City native who now lives in Westchester County, New York.

Eric DeFreitas joined Wine Enthusiast in 2019. He previously worked for Honest Creative designing for lifestyle and tourism brands such as The Valley Table and Hudson Valley Tourism. When DeFrietas is not working, you can find him checking out art galleries and enjoying craft beer.

Tom Arena works with the Wine Enthusiast art team to create photography and visuals that bring content from the magazine and website to life. If he’s not in the photo studio, Arena can be found arguing with his cat about what to watch on Netflix. He is a New York native and now resides in Rockland County.

Opening a restaurant in New York City is one of the hardest challenges anyone can take on, and, in my opinion, you have to be partly insane to do it.

The market is wildly competitive, and the amount of red tape that surrounds even the most miniscule decision can be a headache. Trying to obtain an NYC liquor license, for example, can take six months or more. Everything requires permits and licenses, and each comes with its own fees. The bottom line is, you never have enough money when you’re about to open a restaurant.

And yet, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I am in the process of opening Contento restaurant in East Harlem, New York.

Oh, and by the way, did I mention that we also have the challenge of dealing with something called the coronavirus? I consider myself fortunate that we did not open the restaurant before the pandemic hit NYC, because there will certainly be new regulations going forward. Restaurants will function differently after the coronavirus shutdown is lifted, and it’s up to us to be prepared for this complicated situation.

When Contento does open, I feel an especially urgent need to make it successful. Not just because I need to pay my staff and cover expenses, but also because I have been advocating for restaurant reform for more than 15 years.

I’ve been in a wheelchair since 2003, and I’ve called out a number of establishments for not being ADA compliant. So, it’s very important to me that Contento is both wheelchair-accessible and financially viable. I want to show other restaurateurs that making room for people of all abilities doesn’t just benefit your image, it’s also good for business.

I live and breathe the world of wine and hospitality. It’s in my blood; my father and his two brothers, all of whom immigrated from Brittany, France, worked in restaurants all my life. It wasn’t always glamorous. My father worked long hours and six-day work weeks. I only saw him on Sundays, and he was often too exhausted to do much.

This somehow didn’t deter me from pursuing a career in hospitality. By the time I was 25, I had already worked at such NYC landmarks as Le Cirque, Oceana, Jean Georges and Felidia. I had every intention of owning a restaurant by age 30. I already knew what I wanted it to be, where I wanted it to be and what it was going to be named.

All of that came to an immediate halt when, in October of 2003, I was in a car accident that left me permanently paralyzed from the waist down. With that came the possibility that everything I had worked for in restaurants was no longer possible. Friends and family members told me I should go to law school or work in finance, but I wasn’t having it. Life behind a desk was not going to happen.

So there I was at age 25, completely clueless about how to make my new life as a paraplegic work. The first months were tough. After battling infections and bouts of depression, my biggest fight was trying to find a job and acceptance in the industry I loved so much: hospitality.

I sent out my resume to hundreds of restaurants. Many fruitless interviews later, I began to realize getting hired as a sommelier while in a wheelchair was going to be a problem.

For me to work in a restaurant, the wine cellar needs to be wheelchair-accessible, not up or down a narrow flight of stairs. Shelves have to be at a height I can reach, and dining room tables need to be far enough apart so I can elegantly wheel around the dining room without bumping into furniture. This is especially challenging in New York City, where every inch of real estate is accounted for.

When I was job hunting, I would religiously Google “wheelchair sommelier” or “wheelchair waiter.” I wanted to provide a model to hiring managers who turned me away because they didn’t think someone could possibly work the restaurant floor in a wheelchair, or, quite honestly, what their financial return would be if they took a chance on me.

I remember being interviewed at a very respected restaurant in Midtown Manhattan circa 2004 a few months after leaving the hospital, I knew immediately this was not worth my time and just rolled away without saying a word.

I sent out my resume to hundreds of restaurants. Many fruitless interviews later, I began to realize getting hired as a sommelier while in a wheelchair was going to be a problem.

In 2013, after a decade of rejection, I applied for and eventually obtained a sommelier position at one of NYC’s top private clubs, the University Club. I loved every minute of being back at work, but the dream of opening my own restaurant remained. In 2018, thanks to good luck and great advisors, I found a space I could afford and signed on the dotted line.

Now, as we get ready to open Contento, my partners and I are negotiating with what seems like an endless stream of construction crews, insurers, accountants and community boards.

Some of the most difficult logistical processes I encountered before the coronavirus shutdown in NYC involved making the space wheelchair accessible without sacrificing comfort, aesthetics and profitability. For example, I don’t want the bathroom to look like a hospital bathroom. It should look like any other beautiful bathroom in a New York restaurant.

I also want to get rid of any anxieties an individual living with a disability might have when they go to a restaurant, such as worrying if there are steps to get in, if the door is wide enough and if they can reach or sit comfortably at the tables. (PSA to restaurant-owners: Nothing is more infuriating to someone in a wheelchair than high-top tables.)

My goal is to make Contento the most inclusive restaurant in NYC. We’ll have counter-height seats at the bar for people in wheelchairs, menus available in Braille, and adaptive forks and knives. And, crucially, we’ll provide regular staff training sessions on how to serve disabled customers and be hospitable to their needs.

These things all require financial and temporal investment. But so does taking an enormous portion of the restaurant-going population for granted. There are more than 56 million people living with a disability in the U.S., and they have close to $500 million of disposable income. We need to cultivate this important population and show them we value their business. Given the tight margins of the restaurant business, who can afford to ignore them?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my experience in hospitality, it’s this: Just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean you can’t be the first. More importantly, make sure you leave the doors open behind you, so you won’t be the last.

The category of anise spirits is broad reaching. It encompasses a number of spirits types that deserve attention, but don’t always receive it.

For starters, sambuca and anisette are two spirits that seem interchangeable, yet are not. Since Italian producer Meletti makes both, we asked producer Matteo Meletti to briefly outline the differences, which basically boils down to production and regulation.

Sambuca is regulated by the European Union, while anisette is not. “So when a company produces sambuca, it has to follow some strict rules, while anisette is more open recipe,” says Meletti. This may have to do with the fact that anisette is a much older product, dating back to the 18th century, while Sambuca is more recent.

Sambuca is made from a distillate of star anise or green anise. Anise is always the main ingredient, and the liqueur also must meet minimum sugar (350 g/L), alcohol (38% abv) and anethole (anise aroma) content requirements.

“When a company produces sambuca, it has to follow some strict rules, while anisette is more open recipe.” —Matteo Meletti

By comparison, anisette (sometimes seen as anisetta), is also an anise distillate, but it can be made with other ingredients in addition to anise. “Without restrictions, each formula can be very personalized,” says Meletti. Anisettes can range widely from citrusy and bright to distinctly earthy and molasses-driven to even sweet and spicy.

How do you drink these liqueurs? For those seeking an intro to anise, producer Poli has an excellent suggestion called rasentin in Italian. This ritual consists of rinsing the coffee cup with a dash of Sambuca after having a good espresso.

Larusée Verte Green Absinthe (Switzerland; PM Spirits, Brooklyn, NY); $127, 89 points. Pours out olive drab, then slouches to a lively light green. The aroma entices with a sweet floral note, while the palate is bolder, reverberating with anise overload and a tingly finish. Hit the right water-to-liqueur balance and the flavor profile becomes a bit more delicate and refreshing, tinged with fresh celery. Made with a neutral beet spirit base blended with a dozen herbs and aromatic plants.

St. George Absinthe Verte (USA; St George Spirits, Alameda, CA); $60, 89 points. Released in 2007, this was the first U.S. absinthe produced after the ban was lifted. The yellow-green liquid louches to milky yellow. With plenty of star anise evident on nose and palate, look for hints of lime, lemon balm, fennel, tarragon and a gingery tinge that yields to a long licorice finish. Made with a brandy base.

If you open a bottle of Riesling, you should expect something sticky-sweet, right? And all rosé is pretty much the same, yes?

Not necessarily, says this team of wine experts. In this episode, Wine Enthusiast Managing Editor Lauren Buzzeo speaks to professional wine tasters about the most pervasive misconceptions about buying and drinking wine.

The second installment in a series that debunks wine myths, this episode covers whether sniffing a cork accomplishes anything at all, if natural wine is healthier for you, and whether single-vineyard wines are better than multi-site or -appellation blends.

Guests in this episode include Wine Enthusiast Contributing Editors Christina Pickard and Sean Sullivan, as well as Tasting Director Alexander Peartree, who oversees the Tasting Department that reviews around 25,000 wines every year.

For additional reading on the wines and topics covered in this episode, check out the following links:

Lauren Buzzeo 00:09
Hello and welcome to the Wine Enthusiast Podcast, your serving of wine trends and passionate people beyond the bottle. I’m Lauren Buzzeo, managing editor here at Wine Enthusiast, and in this episode, I’ll talk with a few of our talented wine reviewers and editors to debunk some of our favorite, or not so favorite, wine myths. Did you know that all Riesling is not sweet? Or that natural wine isn’t necessarily better for you? How about that sniffing your cork isn’t just wine snob BS? That’s right. We’ll tell you why as we dive into these topics as well as other burning questions and common wine myths that we want to set the record straight for. We’ll also provide suggestions for regions and bottlings to seek out and try today to broaden your wide knowledge. So get ready to get your learn on and journey with us on this ride to debunk wine myths. But first, a word from today’s sponsor, Barefoot Hard Seltzer. A hard seltzer that’s made with real wine? That’s right. Barefoot Hard Seltzer is here, brought to you by the nation’s most awarded wine brand. Barefoot Hard Seltzer packs delicious flavor into every can with three simple ingredients: sparkling water, natural fruit flavors, and real wine. Plus, Barefoot Hard Seltzer is only 70 calories, two grams of sugar and gluten free. Find Barefoot Hard Seltzer in the hard seltzer aisle in a 12-can variety pack or four pack. Barefoot Hard Seltzer—wine glass optional. Okay, to kick off this episode on debunking wine myths, in my mind, there is absolutely no better person to start things off with than Wine Enthusiast’s very own Tasting Director, Alex Peartree. He’s constantly tasting wines from all around the world and talking to people nonstop about the stuff, from our readers to retailers to importers to producers. He definitely knows his shit. So Alex, thank you so much for joining us.

Alex Peartree 02:20
Wow Lauren, thanks so much for that amazing intro! Happy to be here.

Lauren Buzzeo 02:23
You better live up to it, that’s all I gotta say. All right, so I think to kick things off, let’s start a little easy. Maybe a little overly broad but that’s okay. But this is kind of a common one, especially for the season that we’re in, weather’s getting warmer, Spring is here, Summer’s coming, people are thinking about outside drinking. So, the wine myth that I want to start off with is the idea that all rosé is basically the same. What are your thoughts on that? True or false?

Alex Peartree 02:56
Absolutely not. I mean, this is definitely an easy one. Rosé itself is such a broad and vast category, and in the same way that there are single-varietal bottlings of Pinot Noir or Grenache or Cabernet Sauvignon, there’s single-varietal bottlings of rosé made with the very same grapes, or in some cases, like in Provence, they use a blend of grapes and the blends could be heavy on Grenache or heavy on Syrah or heavy on Mourvèdre, and all of it yields very, very different results.

Lauren Buzzeo 03:38
Right. So to start off, definitely varietally speaking, there’s a lot of different characters at play. There’s a lot of different options for winemakers to use to make the stuff and that’s inherently going to affect the profiles of the wine. Correct?

Alex Peartree 03:51
Correct. Absolutely. So, like in Provence, they definitely have a more lighter-colored rosé, but don’t confuse that with something that’s lacking in intensity. These wines are incredibly mineral driven and spicy and have really, really beautiful tart-fruit flavors. But then when you go to an area like Spain that’s using Tempranillo or Garnacha (Grenache), it’s from a different area, it’s from a warmer climate and the result is something a little bit fleshier or a little bit rounder, a little bit more fuller in body. So it really just depends where you’re getting the grapes from, where the grapes are grown and then what grapes you’re using.

Lauren Buzzeo 04:38
Yeah, another example of that is like in South Africa—because you know, I have to talk about South Africa when and wherever I can—you have a lot of rosés that are made with their local grape Pinotage, which is a pretty robust and and flavorful grape and thus produces pretty intensely flavored rosés. But if you’re looking at, again, maybe some of the classics like from Provence, although they’re not lacking in flavor, they might just be a little bit more nuanced than some of those more expressive varieties.

Alex Peartree 05:07
Exactly. And then even in a specific country like Italy, there’s a huge range across Italy in terms of the rosé category going from north to south. And, in the north, you have these amazing Bardolino Chiarettos, which are made from the same grapes that go into Valpolicella wines like Amarone, and these are pretty light and citrusy in pretty pale in color. But then as you get a little bit further south, there’s wines made from the great Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that are deeply cherry-hewed and definitely more robust in style.

Lauren Buzzeo 05:52
So that brings up actually an interesting side thought that pertains to this question, but I feel like there’s a little bit of an assumption out there that rosé is meant to be a very pale, almost watery looking quaff. And perhaps even the impression that darker-colored rosés are maybe of a lesser quality than pale rosés. I don’t necessarily think that that assessment or that connection is true, but I think that it’s interesting that I feel like it’s out there. And I feel like a lot of it rides on the success and the recent interest in Provencal rosés in particular, and people looking and gravitating towards that style and that general color, you know, color characteristic and associating that with quality. But it’s totally not true, right?

Alex Peartree 06:40
No, it’s definitely not true. And yeah, as you said, I think it just kind of rides with the fad of Provence being the apex of the rosé category, but as people become more familiar with rosé across the world, I think they’ll realize that that doesn’t hold its salt at all. I mean, there are definitely great examples of rosé that are quality from other areas and they’re darker in style.

Lauren Buzzeo 07:13
Yeah, I mean one of those being like Tavel in nearby Rhône Valley from Provence, another iconic region. Those are beautiful wines that are pretty robust and dark in color, and actually that have more longevity than I think that people would immediately suspect or associate with the category as a whole.

Alex Peartree 07:30
Absolutely. And I think that’s another great thing to bring up is the longevity of rosé. While I would say that a good number of the rosés on the market are definitely meant to be enjoyed in the near term, there are certain regions or even producers that produce rosés that are meant to age in the cellar, if only for, I don’t know, a year or two, a few years down the line, but it’s definitely not a forward, fruity drink-now rosé style and I would probably put Tavel in in that category, as well as some Cerasuolo d’Abruzzos.

Lauren Buzzeo 08:12
Yeah, there’s definitely some oak-aged examples as well that I would throw into that category. Like, you know, Gérard Bertrand from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France, in the south of France, makes some beautiful oak-aged rosés. Those I think are fantastic examples. Certainly d’Esclans, the Garrus, fantastic examples of how a rosé can actually benefit from a little bit of age.

Lauren Buzzeo 08:49
Okay, you’re gonna love this one because it ties in a little bit to the region that, one of the regions that you taste, which would be New York. So wine myth number two, big one out there: All Riesling is sweet.

Alex Peartree 09:02
Absolutely not.

Lauren Buzzeo 09:06
Love the enthusiasm on that response!

Alex Peartree 09:09
I mean.

Lauren Buzzeo 09:09
So go!

Alex Peartree 09:10
Yeah, oh my god. Where do I even start? Um, so while I would say first off that there’s nothing wrong with sweet Riesling, but, Riesling is an amazing grape that has such an amazing range and style. And it can go from steely, bone-dry examples to lusciously fruity, just like incredibly sticky-sweet Rieslings. And while I would say New York does a great job of hitting all of those examples, obviously one of the main regions of Riesling is Germany, and they produce styles all over the place. All the way from, you know, the bone-dry, full-body Grosses Gewächs all the way up to ice wine, which is a real treat to try.

Lauren Buzzeo 10:12
Yeah, so ice wine—tell us a little bit about what that is.

Alex Peartree 10:15
Yeah, so ice wine is when the grapes are left on the vine and they freeze and you harvest them. It’s freakin cold when you’re when you’re picking them, I’ve done it. I’ve only done it once because that’s all you need, to do it once to learn.

Lauren Buzzeo 10:35
It’s a once in a lifetime experience.

Alex Peartree 10:39
And then they are pressed and because the water is frozen, you’re extracting such little amount of juice out of there, and it concentrates the acidity and the sugars and the flavors all into this sticky sweet syrup that you then ferment and the results is a gorgeous, delicious ice wine.

Lauren Buzzeo 11:03
My mouth is literally watering right now just thinking about this. But, you know, it’s also very entertaining and amusing to me that we’re talking about this myth that all Riesling is sweet, and we’re saying “absolutely not.” but waxing poetic about the super sweet stuff. So, but I mean, I think that that just emphasizes that there’s a reason why Riesling is known for being sweet. And there are some fantastic and beautiful examples of sweet Riesling. But on the flip side of that, it is a shame that people don’t know the beauty of dry Riesling and the versatility also, in my opinion, when it comes to pairing it with food and having it on the table.

Alex Peartree 11:44
Absolutely. I mean, I think Riesling is probably one of the most easy wines to pair a meal with just because of its structure. Its high in acidity and it has a pretty intense bouquet that can range from lime and lemon to peach and apricots and, in some examples, even more tropical fruits, all the while maintaining that impeccable balance from its inherent acidity. So, and the dry styles, one of the ones that I tend to gravitate to and of the styles that I think is consistently dry are those examples from Australia, in the Claire and Eden Valleys. Those ones are consistently done in a dry style and I think they have a very telltale sort of limey, stony quality to them that I think you could never mistake this wine for being sweet. Even if you were like, oh no, all Riesling is sweet, and you try this one…this is bone dry.

Lauren Buzzeo 12:56
Right, right. You know what it is also, I think that the fact that Riesling is what’s considered an aromatic variety, meaning it has these very pronounced, be it floral or abundantly fruity, characteristics in its aromas that people perceive that as that it’s going to be sweet on the palate, regardless of whether it actually has the residual sugar and the sugar content to be classified as sweet.

Alex Peartree 13:21
Yeah, absolutely. That’s a great point. I mean, I would say that not all Riesling has zero residual sugar in it, but with a balance of acidity to that residual sugar. Ones that are labeled dry definitely come off on the palate as feeling dry. They just need that little bit of, like, residual sweetness to sort of balance it all out. So it’s not incredibly mouth puckering, like you’re sucking on a lemon.

Lauren Buzzeo 13:54
Totally, unless that’s like your thing. You know?

Alex Peartree 13:56
Sure. I mean, some people like that.

Lauren Buzzeo 14:00
So dry Riesling, you’re looking for the word dry. That’s mostly going to be in New World regions that you’ll see that on labels. When it comes to German wines, classifications for drier Rieslings would be dry or trocken, as well as potentially you can look into the feinherb or halbtrocken categories, which would be slightly off dry. So you’re still talking about generally dry in style, just with a little bit of sweetness. Any other recommendations for people looking to try dry Riesling?

Alex Peartree 14:30
Yeah, absolutely. In many New World regions, they use what is called the IRF scale, which is the international Riesling foundation scale. And on the back of the label, it has a little indicator of where the wine falls on the dry to sweet spectrum. So I think it’s a great way to just turn the label over and sort of see where where it falls. To see if you want more of a drier style or sweeter style.

Lauren Buzzeo 15:04
Perfect. And then lastly, I can’t forget to mention that these Rieslings, or dry and slightly off-dry Rieslings, are my favorite pairings for sushi and slightly spicy food. What’s your favorite pairing for Riesling?

Lauren Buzzeo 15:38
Too many options because it pairs with everything. You can’t just pick one right?

Alex Peartree 15:41
Yeah. How can you?

Lauren Buzzeo 15:42
There you go. All right, Alex, thank you so much. I think you lived up to the expectations. You hit all the points. I appreciate your time and debunking these first two wine myths with us.

Lauren Buzzeo 16:12
Oh, of course. I mean, we have some very important wine myths to talk about throughout the episode for sure. But there were a couple—actually, there was really one in particular—that when I saw it come in, I knew I had to talk about with you. There was no other person that I could possibly talk about this one with. Are you dying to know what it is?

Sean Sullivan 16:36
All right, I am dying to know what it is.

Lauren Buzzeo 16:38
All right. So the wine myth that we’re going to talk about first that I think you’re just gonna love talking about and helping to debunk is the idea that sniffing a cork is wine snob bullshit.

Sean Sullivan 16:52
Yes, that’s a topic near and dear to my heart.

Lauren Buzzeo 16:57
So what do you think about that myth? First off, give me a general true or false.

Sean Sullivan 17:01
Uh, false. There, well, the people who say there’s no value in smelling the cork and that it’s just kind of wine snobbery bullshit, that’s just absolutely false. So I think a lot of people listening will probably know that cork taint is a contaminant that ruins wine and typically comes in through the cork, but it can come in through other sources like a barrel or some contamination in the winery. And so, in my tastings for Wine Enthusiast, I see typically annually between three and five percent of wines that are cork closed appear to be contaminated by the cork taint, and it has this kind of moldy-basement smell to it that can be either very faint, or it can be kind of quite prominent and offensive. And it also is something that inhibits your ability to smell wines and ability to taste wines, even at very low levels. And in fact, at levels that might be below your kind of threshold to detect it, so you know. So why does smelling the cork kind of matters, in that regard? Well, because the contamination is coming from the cork in most cases, in my experience. If you’re smelling the wet end of the cork after pulling a cork out of a wine bottle, it gives you a great shot to kind of pick up whether or not that wine is cork contaminated. So a lot of people will say there’s no value in it, but it is giving you your, you know, your first shot at detecting cork taint.

Lauren Buzzeo 17:55
So it’s like a, consider it a first line of defense before you go in for the full sniff of your glass, or even that full taste or that first sip, that you can determine if you think that you’re gonna have some faulty characteristics in your wine. True?

Sean Sullivan 18:43
That’s exactly right. Yeah, so a lot of people have said like, you know, there’s no value in smelling the cork and you know, it just makes you look snobby. Just, you know, smell the wine and see what’s going on in the wine, and I’ll tell you why I don’t think that’s true. So again, you know, the contamination of cork taint is typically coming from the cork. So, you know, cut from the cork and then being subsequently transferred into the wine but the cork taint, it isn’t a binary thing where it’s kind of, you know, a yes, no, it’s really a gradation from potentially no cork taint, to very low levels of cork taint to very high levels of cork taint. And particularly on those lower cork-tainted bottles, those lower levels, it can be very, very faint when you smell the wine, and if it’s cork tainted, a lot of the times you can try it and you just think it’s not very good wine. But if you are smelling the cork in advance of doing that, you have another chance of picking up that cork taint and knowing there’s something wrong with that bottle rather than just finding it disappointing.

Lauren Buzzeo 19:54
Right. I guess, potentially, are you maybe getting a little bit of a pure romance if you will, or an unaffected aroma, direct from the cork as opposed to in the wine? Especially after you first pop it and pour some wine, usually it takes some time for the cork taint to really actually develop it the aromas in the glass and to concentrate in the glass for for certain people to perceive it. But perhaps without, you know, the other compounds that you’re getting from the wine, straight from the cork, you might be more sensitive to pick up on it directly from there?

Sean Sullivan 20:27
Yeah, that’s correct. So you know, a lot of people will say to me, like, oh there’s no, there’s no point in smelling the cork. Cork either smells like cork or it smells like nothing. And first, actually, I will say if you’re pulling all these corks and smelling corks, you will notice a range of different odors coming from cork, from cork taint to sometimes they will smell a little kind of green peppery or a little mushroomy to being, smelling like cork and smelling fairly neutral. In contrast, as you said like when you are smelling your wine, there’s hundreds of different aroma compounds that are kind of competing for your attention at that point. So, if the cork taint is very strong, like yes, it’s going to kind of rise to the surface. But if it’s very low, you’re not necessarily going to notice it because all of those other wine aromas are kind of getting in the way, when you’re smelling something that’s considerably more neutral and smell like the cork. It gives you kind of a pure look at what that taint can smell like.

Lauren Buzzeo 21:29
Yeah, sure. So I think the important takeaway here is, uh, you know, to take pride in your abilities, in your olfactory senses, and take pride in sniffing the cork. Don’t fear—it is not BS. You know, if you pick up on something, you know, send it back, get another bottle, try it out. But don’t doubt yourself.

Sean Sullivan 21:52
Yeah, I think that’s absolutely right. I want to touch on one other thing that you mentioned, which was the cork taint becoming more prominent over time. You get, as I mentioned, these kind of competing aroma molecules there, so at, you know, at lower levels, you’re not necessarily going to notice, but sometimes, you know, 15 minutes later, a half hour later, even a day later, you come back to that wine and it’s like, whoa, that wine is cork tainted. And that’s why it wasn’t all that impressive. But again, if you’re smelling the cork kind of up front, you’ve got another shot at detecting that cork taint. And I guess, you know, the people who say, you know, there’s no value in doing it, you know, first off, I disagree, from my experience. But secondly, there’s no harm in doing it. Right? You know? Like, people will say, like, oh, it’s you know, it’s just kind of wine snobby and there’s no purpose to it, and it’s like, actually, there is a purpose to it and it’s to try to detect cork taint and it’s not like you are harming anybody by smelling the end of the cork. So why not give yourself, you know, two shots at picking up the cork taint rather than just one shot, and smelling them?

Lauren Buzzeo 23:00
Right! Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect the wine. And you know, who cares what anyone else thinks is what I say. I’m a proud cork sniffer. So clearly, you know, in case there was any doubt out there, this is a subject that you’re very passionate about.

Sean Sullivan 23:17
Yeah, I mean, I also say to people, if you went to the grocery store, and 5% of what you bought was rotten, you would be pretty upset by that. But somehow, you know, we’ve allowed that to happen in the wine industry, where we have this healthy amount of tainted wines out there.

Lauren Buzzeo 23:36
Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, you’re one of our only reviewers that keeps, really because you had prior to admittedly joining Wine Enthusiast and reviewing wines for Wine Enthusiast, but you’re one of our only reviewers who keeps track of samples that you receive and your cork percentages, cork taint percentages, that you experience. Again, it’s clearly something that you’re very passionate about, if anyone is interested in learning more, you’ve written wonderful articles for us that are on winemag.com, we have another one that we’re working on editing right now, so we’ll be getting that up shortly, all about all of your cork taint questions answered. So definitely be sure to check out winemag.com, cork taint, Sean Sullivan, if you’re looking for more information. Sean, thank you so much for your time. A pleasure talking as always!

Lauren Buzzeo 24:46
Love it. So we have a couple of wine myths that I wanted to discuss with you and I thought there was no better person to speak to a couple of these myths that we received and that we often hear out with consumers and out in market. There was no better person to hit up to talk about these myths than you. So are you ready?

Christina Pickard 25:06
I’m honored! I’m honored, Lauren.

Lauren Buzzeo 25:10
So, the first myth that I’d like to discuss with you is that natural wines are better for you. True or false?

Christina Pickard 25:19
Oh, man, you know what, you’re not going to be surprised by this answer. It’s complicated. You know, isn’t that the answer for pretty much everything in wine? And life in general? It’s complicated. I wish I could give a black or white yes or no. As you probably guess I have a lot to say on this subject.

Lauren Buzzeo 25:40
I am totally floored and shocked. I really thought you were just gonna be like, yep, moving on.

Christina Pickard 25:46
You know, me always want to be just concise, short and sweet.

Lauren Buzzeo 25:50
Totally, totally. I’m with you. All right, so next question.

Christina Pickard 25:56
Oh, man, so… I’ll try it. I will try to answer. I can’t promise that I will be concise, but I will try to answer this the best way that I can, because it is a pretty big question, as most things with natural wine tend to be. It’s a huge subject, you know, as probably a lot of listeners know, we actually do now have a first sort of beginnings of a certification process happening in France. But, you know, for the most part, natural wines don’t have a certification, you know, they aren’t regulated, so it is a fairly loose category. But assuming that, you know, that we are broadly speaking about natural wines as those that are made organically and biodynamically. And then out in the vineyards and then in the winery are made with as little additions as possible. So very low to no levels of sulfur, native yeast, unfined, unfiltered, minimal oak, etc, etc. Assuming that we can all agree on that as the definition, I feel like that always has to be the disclaimer before you start talking about that.

Lauren Buzzeo 26:56
Right… that is like the Hall of Fame asterisk right there.

Christina Pickard 27:01
I know right? Are they better for you? Well, I think the first question to ask is, are they better for the planet? And I would say in that case, yes, definitely, I think any wine grower who’s farming organically, biodynamically, really committed to it, you know, not just ticking boxes for marketing purposes or just to get that certification and then use for marketing purposes. I think if they, you know, if they are committed to it, and they’re doing it for environmental reasons and sustainability reasons and, you know, they’re not, they’re not spraying chemicals, I think that that is better for the environment and therefore better for you. There have not been, in my opinion, not enough tests done, but there have been some to my knowledge that have shown traces of chemicals of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides in final wines. So is that better for you? I think so. I would rather not drink even trace amounts if I don’t have to of those chemicals. So that’s the organic biodynamic side of things. You know, when we’re speaking about the winemaking side of things, it gets a lot messier. We again, I don’t think that there has been enough done to kind of know what these additives, how much of them end up in the final wine, because you’ll talk to some winemakers and they’ll say, you know, adding, let’s say, tannins from a packet, adding enzymes, these things, you know, there’s no trace of them in the final, once the fermentation process in the aging process happens, there’s no trace of these in the final product. But then, you know, on the flip side of that, there are people who say, well, they’re additives and additives are additives, you know, and I would rather not drink wines with any additives or with as few amount of additives as possible. We know that these things, of course, won’t kill you, but you know, whether are they better for you or not? Probably that doesn’t really make a difference, you know, in terms of overall health, because at the end of the day, alcohol is alcohol, right? And, you know, I think that it is a cleaner choice overall. For the environment because of how little is added in the winemaking process, but ultimately, you know, you’re gonna feel crap the next day after drinking too much alcohol regardless whether it’s natural wine or, or conventional wine or any of the many, many myriad of wines that would fall somewhere in between. But I don’t know, I like to sort of go with the way that I approach wines for me personally. So ultimately, the wine I choose to drink is often in conjunction with the food I choose to eat. So mostly, I strive to eat organic and local and in season and those foods for me are infinitely more flavorful. They’re more packed with nutrients. Plus, you know, bonus, I’m supporting sustainability and the environment in my local community. But you know what, there’s also times when I just want a pizza or a hamburger or a pack of Oreo cookies or a tub of Ben and Jerry’s or whatever. And you know what, I think that that’s okay too, because life is all about balance. And if we start thinking about wine in the same way way, I think it’s positive for ourselves, for the environment, for supporting small producers, you know? But drink the wines that you love and just don’t drink too much of them.

Lauren Buzzeo 30:09
Love it. I love that you bring that up also because I think that a second part of that wine myth is that natural wines don’t give you hangovers. And I don’t know where that came from, or where the logic for that really resides. But it is still alcohol, you are still going to have those effects. Regardless of whether you drink a natural line or commercial, conventional wine. It’s just, it is what it is, folks. You drink, if you drink too much, you’re gonna feel it the next day.

Christina Pickard 30:36
Right, right. Exactly. And I think sulfur gets blamed a lot, you know. The natural wine conversation always tends to end up around, surrounded with sulfur, you know? By how much sulfur is used in conventional wines versus how much is used in natural wines. And that is the case, there is very, very little sulfur used in natural wines compared to conventional but then, of course, like conventional runs the whole spectrum of you know, depending on how much is added during the fermentation process? How much is adding during bottling? And I think sulfur ends up getting blamed for hangovers a lot, or people being like, oh, I can’t drink this wine. You know, I can’t drink reds because I have sulfur allergies. And that is still true for a very small percentage of people, but people who truly have sulfur allergies also would be allergic to dried fruit and beer and you know, sulfur is added as a preservative in a lot of other things besides wine. And so, particularly red wines, they say that there’s like a protein and this is kind of, I am not a scientist ,so this is a little over my head, I’m speaking a little out of turn, but I hear, you know, there are other, there’s histamines, there’s things with, you know, with the phenols on the skins that people think are more likely to cause perhaps worse reactions. You know, some people will swear they have worse hangovers on reds than they do on whites. But ultimately, reds are also higher in alcohol. So who knows? Who knows what we can blame. It’s probably the alcohol for most people.

Lauren Buzzeo 32:04
So when it comes down to the question of if natural wines are better for you or not, I think it’s, it’s fair to boil it down to it’s a personal choice, just like buying organic produce or meat or whatever. You’re weighing a lot of different variables, a lot of different factors. Might it be better for you to not have certain ingredients included in the cultivation of these wines? Yes. But it’s not a hard scientific fact that it is healthier for you. Fair?

Lauren Buzzeo 32:38
We know where you stand, don’t worry. All right. So moving on. The next myth that I’d love to discuss with you because I think that it’s especially pertinent to one of the regions that you cover and the wines that you taste for Wine Enthusiast. The myth I’ve heard is that single-vineyard wines are better than blended wines. What do you have to say about that?

Christina Pickard 33:02
Well, again, I’m not going to give you a yes or no answer for this, or black and white. And again, I’m gonna say it’s complicated. And you know, there isn’t, I think this is why these myths become myths in the first place, right? There’s no sort of easy answer to this. And there’s, a lot of it is going to be opinion. But I think that we are kind of obsessed in the wine world with categorizing and, I get it, you know, single varietals. Single vineyards are easier to remember, they’re easier to wrap our heads around. And there are certainly plenty of very special single-vineyard sites around the world. But there are also plenty of really average ones. So then it becomes a question of should you pay more for that average site just because it’s come from the one place, you know, just because they’re marketing it as its single vineyard and therefore it’s, you know, X amount more expensive and often the single vineyard has gone into, you know, the priciest oak and it’s been hand picked and fair enough, there has been more TLC in this handling process and the fermentation and aging process of it, but it doesn’t necessarily always make it better just because it’s single vineyard. And you know, it’s also, I mean, isn’t there an enormous amount of skill on the winemakers part just in being able to blend the best traits of each site? So I don’t know, maybe it depends on your personality, but I think, can’t we admire the chef who makes, like, killer scrambled eggs or the perfect steak as much as we can? Who, you know, one who works with like dozens of ingredients, putting them together to sort of form one coherent dish? I think, you know, both can be great in their own way. And there’s no right and wrong to that. And I think, you know, you were talking about the regions that I review, particularly with Australia being one of them. They have a very long history and tradition of blending wines. And they, so Australia’s history is really, of winemaking, started with fortified wines. They moved into table wines and fine wines, but really the ones that we know primarily from the country today, that tradition started with blending there. They, you know, they would take, like, some fruit from the Hunter Valley and some fruit from McLaren Vale or Barossa, you know, two or three different totally different regions, and blend them together because they will go, you know what I get, you know, all this this characteristic from this vineyard and this from this and I can get great acidity from this fruit, maybe, and great tannin structure from this one, and by combining them, I get the best of both worlds. So, um, you know, there’s, that’s maybe more a winemaking skill. So maybe the conversation is more about, you know, the skill line more in the winery versus the skill line more in the vineyard. But there’s no right or wrong. You know, I don’t, I don’t think that you need to blindly choose a wine based on the fact that it’s single vineyard.

Lauren Buzzeo 35:40
Totally. And as you’re talking there are so many bombs inside, diversions, that are going on in my brain, talking about a terroir and representation of place and Old World versus New World because, of course, I wanted to talk to you about this. It’s something we’ve talked about before just casually, you know, in the tasting room, as it pertains to Australia. Because they do have this really rich history of actually relying a lot on their quality, high-quality wines being blended wines from different sites. It’s only been more recently, I think, in their viticultural history that they’ve gravitated more towards single-vineyard expressions, especially as marketing those as more higher-end than some of the blends. But I do think it’s an interesting dichotomy between Old World and New World, how the New World generally tends to gravitate towards more acceptance of blending and of the winemaking, whereas the Old World very often relies on this sort of implied sense of quality that comes from a single-vineyard wine, right?

Christina Pickard 36:43
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, Australia’s most famous wine and also its most expensive wine is Penfold Grange, which is a multiregional blend, you know. Not only is it a blend of grapes, they’ve Shiraz and some Cabernet in there, but it’s also a blend of regions which I think is an interesting comment, right, on Australia as a whole. But as you say, they’ve also moved towards more single-vineyard sites. But, you know, the, the total or total polar opposite of of Penfolds Grange is some of them, like, natty guys that I really like, you know? There’s Ochota Barrels does a wine called Texture Like Sun that’s a blend of a coferment of nine different grape varieties from several different regions. And, you know, then the whole, there’s another conversation to be had around field blends as well, which is really, like, old school, traditional small-scale, you know, wine growing, which is where they just put a bunch of varieties all in one plot together. And often, you know, you can still go to some Old World regions, you know, I’ve met some, like, small winegrowers in Spain and France, and you’ll ask them, what’s the final blend of their wine? And they’ll be like, I don’t know. It’s just whatever I picked out there. And they can’t even tell you because of course, they haven’t sent it to a lab or anything. We can’t even tell you like exactly what the blend is. So there’s definitely some generalizations you can make with Old World or New World for sure. And the New World is, you know, tend to be always looking towards the Old World as well. And to see, you know, what they’re doing a little bit. And we are in this age of terroir and single vineyards and revering those, but I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know, if I had a crystal ball, maybe, you know, maybe we’ll be moving away from that, maybe we already are, in some ways, you know, in going back to these blends and celebrating those as well.

Lauren Buzzeo 38:26
Yeah, well, I think something that’s also perpetuating this whole single-vineyard, single-site expression is sort of a newfound love and appreciation for old vines. They’re very much a hot topic right now in the wine world. People love talking about these old vine vineyards, the centurion vines. And and the idea is that somehow because they are old vines that the quality of the wines that they ultimately yield and produce is of a higher quality then younger vines. So it’s interesting how there’s sort of these parallel, well, trends, that are causing all of them to rise together to prominence and create these expectations of quality when they’re not maybe necessarily as inherent as people think they are.

Christina Pickard 39:11
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, there’s some and I think some would absolutely fit that bill. And certainly, you know, some of the older vines in like Barossa, McLaren Vale, you know, to go back to Australia, or, you know, produce amazing fruit. And then there’s others. You know, I’ve talked to some of the older producers in Barossa, they’re having to rip up a lot of their old vines. And I was kind of appalled at first, and there is a sadness in that. And I’m certainly not promoting that, because I think there’s a lot to be said for history, but they were also just like they don’t, the fruit is actually not that good. The yields are so low, and they’ve had to rip them up. So there is always that balance of practicality too and it’s easy from a marketing perspective to say, oh, these are old vines, and this is a single vineyard and therefore the wine is going to be good. And, you know, sometimes it’s the case and sometimes it isn’t, and it’s also so much depends on the farming, but I do think that ultimately, this whole move towards talking about old vines, talking about terroir and single vineyard, you know, even if some of it feels a little bit gimmicky and a little bit of like a marketing ploy, or just a way to sort of charge extra money for wines in some ways, even if that is sometimes the case, overall as a movement as a shift, I think it’s a positive thing in the way that I think natural wine, whether you’re a fan or you’re not a fan of some of the wines has been an important, it has been an important shift in the wine world because it has us talking about what’s happening in the vineyards more. And I think that conversation for a long time, for decades, was far too focused on what happened in the winery. And so again, you know, being an environmentalist, I guess, or someone who’s passionate about the environmental side of winegrowing, I think that conversation, just anything that’s going to take it out to the vineyards more and talk about how these wines are grown, is positive.

Lauren Buzzeo 40:47
Yeah, totally. I couldn’t agree with you more. But you know what, I love the fact that listeners probably got a really good insight into the world of Christina Pickard sas it pertains to her wine preferences and ethical choices on consumption and I can’t wait to hear from you more soon in the upcoming episodes. We have a an episode coming up on Australian red wine, so looking forward to talking about that.

Christina Pickard 41:11
I’m excited about that one. I’ve got a really interesting guest for that. So be sure you tune in because he’s, he’s kind of a rock star in the Australian wine scene, so well worth, well worth tuning in and hearing what he has to say about what’s happening now in modern day Australia.

Lauren Buzzeo 41:25
I think you’re the rock star, Christina.

Christina Pickard 41:27
Oh, thanks, LB.

Lauren Buzzeo 41:30
All right. Before we fall down more rabbit holes, I’m going to say goodbye. Thank you so much for talking with us today.

Christina Pickard 41:36
Thanks, Lauren. A pleasure as always.

Lauren Buzzeo 41:41
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Wine Enthusiast Podcast. We talked about a lot of different wines today, with many recommendations worth checking out. So please, be sure to visit winemag.com/podcast to learn more about these selections and where to find them. Subscribe to the Wine Enthusiast Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you find podcasts. If you liked today’s episode, we’d love to read your review and hear what you think. And hey, why not tell your wide loving friends to check us out, too. You can also drop us a line at podcast@winemag.com. For more wine reviews, recipes, guides, deep dives and stories, visit Wine Enthusiast online at winemag.com and connect with us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @wineenthusiast. The Wine Enthusiast Podcast is produced by Lauren Buzzeo and Jenny Groza. Until next time, cheers!

]]>Faced with Global Crises, Wineries Turn to Adaptive Farming and Support Groupshttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/12/how-climate-change-impacts-wine/
Tue, 12 May 2020 15:00:09 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54166A nearly dry private reservoir in South Africa's Western Cape/Photo by dpa/Alamy Live News

Fires, smoke, drought and floods. Agriculture has always been a game of chance, but the rules in many of the world’s wine regions are changing as the climate grows erratic and intense. And while the novel coronavirus pandemic offered a reprieve from carbon emissions, the climate crisis still looms.

It forces winemakers to adapt both on the farm and in strategy. Coming harvests will tell whether modifications will be enough to survive. Here’s how winegrowers are preparing.

Wild Weather Upends the Industry

Australia has long endured bushfires, but the 2019–20 season was unusual. Major blazes broke out before the growing season began. The scope and intensity of the bushfires was related to extended drought and record heat.

By harvest’s end, a number of wine regions in Australia faced disaster. Fires tore through Adelaide Hills and decimated the vineyards of Golding Wines. The state of New South Wales was blanketed by smoke, which permeated Hunter Valley’s famed Semillon wines. Wind, frost and hail in their spring were followed by heat and drought that hurt yields in Barossa Valley. For now, many Australian wineries hope to mitigate threats through adaptive farming.

To combat increasingly hot and dry weather, James Agnew, general manager of Audrey Wilkinson in Hunter Valley, employs a combination of mulch, canopy coverage and sunscreen on fruit. For the long term, he’s assessing the “varietal mix,” an uneasy pivot for a region defined by Semillon.

Smoke taint forced brands like Tyrrell’s to dump much of their 2020 harvest. As such threats increase, research is underway for preventative techniques. An agricultural spray that coats grapes to curb smoke damage shows promise.

Australians elsewhere are exploring “climate appropriate” varieties.

“If wineries don’t produce enough good fruit over the next few harvests, they’ll fail,” says Marnie Roberts of Matriarch & Rogue in South Australia’s Clare Valley.

Roberts buys heat- and drought-resistant varieties like Arinto and Prieto Picudo, which provide flexibility to experiment. The goal with new grapes is to make something balanced yet delicious.

“We can adapt and evolve, but doing so constantly takes its toll,” she says. “We need to be positive…while letting go of what doesn’t work. That’s really hard—the letting go.”

To combat the effects of climate change, wineries can turn to native plants like spekboom./Getty

In South Africa, Cape Town’s drought dominated headlines in early 2018, when the country was approaching Day Zero. While not as dire a situation today, the Western Cape’s water supply remains tenuous amid rising temperatures and frequent blazes.

Johan Reyneke, of Reyneke Wines, takes fire preparation seriously. He invested in firefighting training for his staff and related equipment, and he planted the native succulent spekboom around the farm for its carbon-storing and fire-resistant qualities. Reyneke believes the best weapon, however, is regenerative agriculture.

“Not only does it sequestrate carbon in the soil, but it builds humus levels,” he says. Increasing humus, the organic matter found in soil, reduces water run-off and related erosion. It also boosts the soil’s water-holding capacity.

Wellington, a warm region in the Western Cape, just emerged from a three-year drought. To plan for fires and warmer seasons ahead, Petrus Bosman, of Bosman Wines, removes non-native, highly flammable trees like blue gums to allow drought-tolerant indigenous species to flourish.

After two harvests impacted by wildfires, Anna Beuselinck, co-owner of Campovida winery in Mendocino County, says a fire plan “is an absolute necessity.” Past experience has taught her flexibility and agility.

“The power outages and required evacuations can have as much or even greater impact as the actual fires,” says Beuselinck. To protect her business, she ensures that Campovida has reserves of wines and capital, and also employs multiple sales channels, outlets and storage areas.

As farming becomes less reliable, wineries now explore revenue opportunities up the value chain.

After losing all their fruit in the Adelaide Hills fires last December, Lucy and Darren Golding pivoted to hospitality. They developed the restaurant and tasting room experience at Golding Wines, with an increased focus on wedding and corporate events. Tragically, Covid-19 has cleared their calendar indefinitely.

Australia’s bushfires as seen from space in January 2020/Photo by Geopix/Alamy

Managing Emotions: The Toll of Volatility and Loss

While adaptive farming, revenue diversification and a bit of luck can help businesses navigate climate change, the industry is forced to manage personal upheaval and loss. Everyone copes differently.

“Out of our small team of eight, three people lost their homes,” says Beuselinck. “Following the fires, we had floods, power outages and now, the pandemic. The emotions and memories run deep, but so do the friendships.”

Campovida’s tight-knit group gathers weekly for support.

“In making wine, you learn there are things you cannot control,” says Noah Dorrance, cofounder/winemaker of Reeve Wines in Sonoma. “You try not to worry until there is something to worry about.”

Brook Bannister of Sonoma’s Bannister Wines, tries to view disaster as a problem of change.

“It seems like the enduring lesson from every catastrophe…is that impermanence is the rule,” he says. For Bannister, managing his “head space” is as important as day-to-day preparation.

“These are climate change-driven events, and it raises the possibility that these wines might not be viable in this way in this place at some point in the future,” says Bannister. Acceptance paves his path forward.

“I honestly believe that necessity breeds invention,” he says. “As the situation changes, so do people’s strategies. No doubt there will be casualties, but there will also be lots of innovation. Farming has always required multiple skills and creative thinking.”

Maybe it’s the time I’ve spent in the Loire Valley, or maybe it’s because one of the first Napa Valley Cabernet Francs I ever had was one of Tom Garrett’s iconic Detert bottlings, but I’ve always loved Cabernet Franc. I love its violet aroma and vibrant, earthy flavors of cedar, dried herb and crushed rock atop a brambly berry core. It can present such a lovely, harmonious balance between fruitiness and floral notes, with great acidity and structure.

It has the potential to be a great grape here, a softer, gentler alternative to Cab Sauv, if ever given its proper due.

Which is exactly why I’ve lamented that it’s relatively invisible in the regions I cover, especially Napa. Sure, there are devotees, like Detert, Lang & Reed and Crocker & Starr, but for every Cab Franc-minded producer, there are easily hundreds more focused on Cabernet Sauvignon.

That’s true in the ground as well. Cabernet Franc doesn’t even crack the top six varieties planted in the Napa Valley. At 51%, Cabernet Sauvignon is far and away the most dominant. But there’s also more Merlot (9%), Pinot Noir (6%) and Zinfandel (3%) than Cab Franc.

It has the potential to be a great grape here, a softer, gentler alternative to Cab Sauv, if ever given its proper due.

“Cabernet Franc is my favorite variety,” says Genevieve Janssens, the longtime director of winemaking for Robert Mondavi Winery who now focuses on her own brand, Portfolio Winery, as well as consulting. “It combines the winemaking skills of Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. It is very delicate, very aromatic, with silky, satin tannins. To be able to capture all the nuances of this variety, the winemaker needs to be tuned to the site, the vintage.”

Like me, Janssens has wondered why the grape hasn’t had the same fame as the other Cabernet or even as much as Merlot.

“I’m attributing this late start to the complexity of cultivating it,” she says. “It will be very sensitive to its environment, it will be more hands-on. It has a strong sense of place.”

“The way we farm Cabernet Franc, with extreme leaf pulling, tends to give the wines more chocolate and cocoa notes and less of the obvious green and herb notes that Cab Franc has in the past been known for,” he says.

Janssens calls it poetic, “a variety that flirts with you, evocative and gracious on the palate.”

Born into the wine industry on her family’s Sky Vineyards estate atop Mount Veeder, Mayacamas Olds is named for the mountain range that separates Napa and Sonoma.

As a kid she learned every aspect of the wine business, from sustainable farming to trade tastings. After time in Europe, she earned a Bachelor of Science in fermentation science from University of California, Davis. Stints at Enterprise Vineyards, Sunshine Organic Consulting, Diego Chateau & Estates, Huneeus Vintners and Newton Vineyards all followed.

In early 2020 she was named general manager for Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards in Sonoma, where she oversees everything from operations and hospitality to farming. She holds an MBA in Corporate Sustainability from Presidio Graduate School.

You grew up on a winery estate and vineyard. How did it inform your interest in wine?

Everything revolved around wine. I tried to run away from home at 16 and when I did I moved to Spain and got a cellar job making sherry. It gave me different insight and I fell in love with it and came back home having seen a different piece of the wine world.

You’ve directed vineyard operations at Diageo, for Huneeus and more recently at Newton. Is environmental sustainability the most important focus for someone in that role?

I am always hoping to improve the environmental sustainability as well as human rights and labor issues while trying to grow the best possible grapes that have a sense of place. Whether the wine is $14 or $600 the reason to focus on sustainability is it makes better wines.

You are the general manager of Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards, owned by the Ferrer family of Barcelona. What prompted you to make the jump to this bigger role?

I love fast-paced change. It was too good an opportunity to pass up, I have a huge passion for sparkling wine and it was the first sparkling house in Carneros. The long-term vision is something that I love, plus my early time in Spain and love of Spanish wines helped. Working locally with a global perspective meshed with everything I’ve done in my career.

What are your immediate goals for Gloria Ferrer?

Well, with Covid-19 we are thinking about how we are positioning the business and managing the team. All the tasting room employees have been put in different departments and we’ve started free local delivery in the Bay Area and pivoting on how to get Gloria Ferrer wines to people beyond.

We started two new wine clubs, one geared more for out-of-state customers. And we’re revisioning what hospitality will look like for visitors and staff and how to have a good experience, provide an escape. People will want it and need it.

What do you see as your long-term initiatives for the brand?

I’m building a regenerative model across the business for how to keep the economic piece moving, employees taken care of and keep the business in the family for the next generation. We have a new packaging release in the fall. We are going to focus on creating our own energy – Carneros has a lot of wind and a lot of sun. And we’ll be focusing on sparkling innovations. Part of Gloria’s heritage is this place and the history of Carneros and the Sonoma Valley. We are going to be building on that. We want that to be carried through to the future.

There has been a boom in U.S. craft spirits producers over the last decade, thanks to relaxed legislation and increased demand for locally made food and drink.

From 2018–19, the industry grew by 11%, according to data from the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA). The trade group says that as of last year, there were more than 2,000 active craft distillers in the country.

If you chat up a distiller during a tour or a tasting, you’re as likely to find a former lawyer or engineer at the helm as someone born into the business.

Becky Harris, chief distiller of Catoctin Creek Distilling Company in Purcellville, Virginia, graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin. She was a successful chemical engineer who specialized in industrial processes. In 2009, her husband, Scott, a government contractor, suggested that they launch a distillery.

If he could write a successful business plan that utilized their savings, she told him, Harris would work for free.

“I wasn’t worried about the technical aspect, as I made things like copper and nickel plating,” she says. “If I had learned to do those, I can learn distillation.”

Becky Harris / Photo courtesy Catoctin Creek Distilling Company

Harris is proud of Catoctin Creek’s impact on Virginia spirits and craft distilling, but she debunks one big misconception. “There is this romantic notion of walking in the fields stroking your rye plants and then staring at your burnished copper still.”

Instead, she says, distillers’ day-to-day lives are filled with unglamorous tasks like scouring stills, dumping barrels and doing inventory. But it can be an amazing career for those passionate enough.

If your dream is to become a craft spirits producer, here are a few paths to help get there.

Start with homebrewing.

Brewing is a common first step for many distillers, as most spirits start off as a fermented beverage akin to beer.

A University of California, San Diego grad, Yuseff Cherney was on track to obtain a law degree when he struck up a conversation with the owner of a store where he bought home brewing supplies. Soon, Cherney transformed a back room of the shop into a test kitchen for his experiments.

The shop evolved into Ballast Point Brewery, where Cherney served as head brewer and distiller from 1998 to 2016. It’s there that Cherney made his first still from an upside-down beer fermenter. He credits the success of his San Diego distillery, Cutwater Spirits, to his experience in beer.

“Knowing the science behind fermentation and having a keen eye for cleaning regimens and packaging was…instrumental in producing award-winning spirits,” says Cherney.

Yuseff Cherney / Photo courtesy Cutwater Spirits

Take your existing background a step further.

Jared Adkins is the founder/master distiller of Bluebird Distilling in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. With a degree in management and accounting from Saint Francis University in tow, Adkins was accepted to a manufacturing program with PepsiCo to work with high-speed bottles.

Interested in craft spirits and beer, his father handed him an article about the state’s distilling laws.

“That was the lightbulb,” he says. “I began to research and travel to any distillery within a six-hour drive to find out more.” Adkins also attended a distilling course at Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago to bolster his manufacturing expertise.

Jared Adkins / Photo courtesy Bluebird Distilling

Don’t limit yourself to alcohol, and learn from others’ experience.

Jamie Oakes, distiller at Tamworth Distilling in New Hampshire, also touts his brewing background. In his case, it’s coffee.

Oakes bounced around after high school and earned a degree in commercial arts from Rochester Institute of Technology. A bartender in college, Oakes fell in love with coffee after he moved to Philadelphia. For many years, he worked as a barista and learned the nuts and bolts of espresso and coffee equipment.

“Brewing [coffee] and distilling have a great bit of crossover…for the sensory evaluation alone,” says Oakes.

After moving back to his native New Hampshire and assuming his role with Tamworth, Oakes traveled around the country to learn more about other distillers’ equipment. He then spent more than 20 hours a week in a woodshed in the mountains where he tinkered with his homemade stills.

“I would use ice chunks from snowfall to chill the distillate condensing worm,” Oakes recalls. “It gave me a healthy respect for working over a live-fire still and an admiration for the craftspeople that built our current equipment.”

Jamie Oakes / Photo courtesy Tamworth Distilling

Work your way up through related roles.

Though Elizabeth McCall’s mother worked in the Bourbon industry, she didn’t plan to follow in the family footsteps. Instead, McCall pursued a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Louisville.

But when she heard about a technician position in Woodford Reserve’s Sensory Department, she applied for the job. McCall took advantage of the company’s internal education opportunities and made an impression on master distiller Chris Morris. He took McCall under his wing to train as a master taster.

In 2018, McCall was promoted to assistant master distiller and is currently one of the country’s youngest femaledistillers.

Elizabeth McCall / Photo courtesy Woodford Reserve

Take a course.

McCall’s trajectory may not be easy to replicate, but she advises to take courses at the many universities that offer programs in distilling, often tied to brewing or winemaking.

Fashion icon Nicole Miller’s clothing designs are known to emphasize elegance and luxury, with just a dash of punk-rock rebellion. Last year, she brought these same sensibilities to a different industry: wine.

Here, we check in with the style matriarch to discuss her collaboration with Bordeaux’s Château Auguste, and how the worlds of fashion and wine pair as well as lobster tails and a chilled glass of her rosé.

Why did you make the jump into wine from the fashion world?

Well, they’re not that far [off] from each other. They intertwine all the time.

And I am French, so wine was something I grew up with. We always had wine at the dinner table… I accumulated a lot of French friends here in New York over the years. [One] happens to be a wine distributor, and during one of our “franglais” conversations…he said, “I think we could make you a rosé. Would you be interested?” And I was like, “Absolutely.”

How did you decide to work with Château Auguste?

My friend, the wine distributor [Jacques Azoulay], has several really strong relationships with multiple chateaus…Auguste among them. We did a lot of research and went on some tours and, eventually, we realized that Auguste was the way to go. I know rosé is traditionally made in Provence, but I think Bordeaux, where Auguste is located, is actually superior.

Our vintner is Damien Landouar, the famous French winemaker from Château Gaby in the Canon-Fronsac appellation, so my rosé is in good hands. I have good friends!

Have you been able to bring your fashion skills to your rosé?

When we were discussing what to put on the label, I had two ideas: One was to go with my old-school idea of conversational, putting grapes and vines, maybe little bottles and glasses all over the label. The second was to go the opposite—clean and modern.

I opted for the latter. Château Auguste’s own label is filled with grapes, vines and florals. So I wanted a real departure from that, something to give my rosé visual distinction. I think it looks modern and cool, and I also love that it’s mostly reminiscent of my own dress label.

Do you think this rosé is going will eventually affect your clothing line?

I’ll have to do a line of pale pink dresses now, won’t I? Ha! It’s funny, pink is not my favorite color to wear. I don’t mind it as a color, but it’s not a color that I normally would wear myself.

How do you think trends affect the wine world, especially rosé?

I think wine is trendy, just like everything else, and rosé is no different. If people hit on it at the right time, it becomes a viral thing, like it has recently.

Ours has been successful this last season, so hopefully it will latch on in the way other rosés have. Because, excuse me, mine is just better.

When did you become acquainted with rosé?

It was probably the summers in Saint-Tropez, going to those beach clubs, the long lunches, always so magical. And a cooled rosé was always available.

Once, years ago, I was staying in Saint-Tropez and had the chance to go to a wedding at Château d’Esclans in Provence. I tried their rosé, which is famously excellent, and couldn’t get enough. Rosé has been in my life for a long time.

Was rosé ever at the dinner table when you were growing up?

[My mother] certainly drank rosé later on in her life, but growing up, no. We never had rosé in the house.

But I don’t think it was popular back then, certainly not how it is now. Rosé is everywhere these days. I just think mine happens to be a particularly excellent one.

How involved did you get in the creation of your wine?

Mostly, for my part, it was a lot of tastings, a lot of testing batches, until we found the exact right concoction. I trust my own tasting acumen, but I trust my vintner’s even more.

]]>Italian Wineries Anxiously Await a Return to Normalcyhttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/11/italy-wine-covid-news/
Mon, 11 May 2020 11:00:49 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54123Sanitization of 'Baccanale' restaurant in Rome on May 4/Photo by Sipa USA/Alamy Live News

One of the countries hardest hit by the novel coronavirus, Italy has suffered the longest and most rigidly enforced lockdown in the European Union. The nationwide quarantine that started on March 9 closed restaurants, wine bars and halted tourism. Cellar-door sales, crucial to many Italian wineries, and on-premise sales both domestically and around the world have collapsed. Vinitaly, the country’s most important annual wine fair for the trade, was canceled for the first time in its 54-year history.

With the 2020 harvest just months away and cellars across the country filled to capacity, various wine-trade associations have called on the government to approve emergency measures, including a controversial proposal to distill table wine stocks in order to obtain alcohol for disinfectant. While this may be a feasible option for cheaper wines destined for immediate consumption, it’s obviously not viable for Italy’s high quality, ageworthy wines.

Easing Restrictions

The government began to ease restrictions on May 4, referred to as Phase 2 from the original lockdown restrictions, but this hasn’t helped the wine sector. People can now travel outside their towns and cities, but not their regions, and only for work or medical reasons. Restaurants are now allowed to sell takeout, but most remain shuttered due to the bureaucratic hurdles and expenses involved in revamping their business models.

“Nothing has changed since May 4,” says Soave Classico producer Andrea Pieropan. “Our office is open, but our tasting rooms and cellars are closed to visitors.” He adds that with restaurants in Italy and around the world still closed, the firm’s sales, dependent largely on the restaurant and hospitality sectors, are down 80%.

Like many producers, Pieropan has spent much of the last two months in the vineyards. “The distinction between the two realities, vineyards and the cellars, is surreal,” he says. “In the vineyards, everything has sprung to life and there’s so much to do while the cellar is quiet, with little activity and no visitors. It’s like wearing two different shoes.”

For some wineries, sales to supermarkets and large retail distribution chains have increased. According to Luca Sabatini, Export Director of Cantina di Soave, the firm saw “general sales in export markets increase 17% for the first trimester of 2020 compared to the same period last year. Alongside the stop of global onsite sales that began in March, there was a simultaneous increase in retail sales in all the main foreign markets.”

Rise of online sales

To help small Soave producers dependent on on-premise sales in export markets that registered significant declines in revenue, the Consorzio di Tutela del Soave has created an online platform to promote the wineries’ online sales.

“80% of Soave is exported, so the positive thing in this period is that small companies are now focusing on the Italian market via online orders and home delivery,” says Aldo Lorenzoni, the Consorzio’s director.

“Our onsite wine shop generates about 20% of our overall sales, but with the shop closed, we’re now selling online directly, but keeping the same retail prices to avoid competition with wine shops,” says Paolo Bianchini, the firm’s co-owner along with his sister Lucia. He adds that the online sales division was also created “to keep the staff, who normally man the shop, working and busy.”

Does Bianchini feel this is the future for direct sales? “No, I think when people can travel freely again they’ll prefer to visit the winery, the vineyards, try and buy the wines onsite.”

Waiting it out

In Langhe, home of Barolo and Barbaresco, 2020 started off with robust sales, thanks in part to the buzz over the just-released 2016 Barolos, one of the best vintages in recent times.

“Thanks to strong sales in January and February, overall Barolo sales are actually up 5% for the first trimester compared to the same time last year, even if business dropped off dramatically in March and April,” says Matteo Ascheri, president of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani. Including the current vintages on sale, Barolo and Barbaresco producers have multiple vintages in the cellars undergoing mandatory aging requirements.

“With restaurants shut around the world and no tourists, things will be tough,” says Ascheri. “Barolo and Barbaresco producers will leave the very limited amount of government funding available for other denominations whose wines have to be consumed immediately. Instead, the Consorzio is working with major banks to get financing that will be guaranteed up to 90% by the government and will be distributed to our members to help them during this difficult period and the upcoming harvest.

“It’s crucial that Barolo and Barbaresco producers resist the urge to sell off their wines at discounted prices. Bank financing is key to ensuring they won’t have to do that.”

Restaurants in Italy are set to open June 1, but distancing measures will greatly reduce capacity and it’s unlikely that people will be racing out to restaurants immediately.

As Ascheri, also a Barolo producer, hotel and restaurant owner points out, “living in lockdown is against human nature. At some point, people will start getting together with friends and family, go out to eat and enjoy life again. Fine wine will be a part of that scene. Barolo and Barbaresco maintain their value over time, so we can wait.”

]]>How to Make Limoncello at Homehttps://www.winemag.com/recipe/limoncello-recipe-diy-homemade/
Sat, 09 May 2020 11:00:40 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?post_type=recipe&p=54101Animation by Eric DeFreitas

We’ve all seen home brewing and winemaking kits, but do you want a project that doesn’t require any special gear and yields a flavorful spirit? Then consider DIY limoncello, an Italian classic made with just a few easy-to-obtain ingredients (and a healthy dose of patience).

What is limoncello?

Limoncello hails from Southern Italy, where it’s usually a homemade beverage with little standardization. That lack of “rules” contributes to its charm.

“The history of limoncello is said to have started well over 100 years ago in Italy, but it’s hard to know the exact origin, because it is very commonly and traditionally made at home and passed down through generations and generations,” says Brynn Smith, bar manager of The AllBright in West Hollywood, California.

Limoncello takes a high-proof clear liquor, usually vodka or Everclear, and infuses it with lemon peels and lemon zest. Simple syrup and water are added to balance texture and flavor. Smith emphasizes the importance of lemons in southern Italian culture.

“The amazing IGP [a.k.a. sfusato] lemons of the Amalfi Coast [make] the best limoncello I have tasted,” she says.

Here’s for a simple limoncello recipe that’s both perfect as-is and with your choice of imaginative tweaks.

In March, as bars, restaurants and taprooms closed across the country due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, and millions of hospitality workers lost their jobs, the founders of New York’s Other Half Brewing Co. hatched a plan to help.

The result? The All Together beer project, a global collaboration for the brewing world.

The scope is large, but the concept is simple. Any brewery can participate by brewing a beer adorned with a specially designed logo, and donate proceeds from sales to unemployed members of the hospitality industry.

Sam Richardson, cofounder/brewer at Other Half, created an “open source” recipe as a jumping off point for interested brewers. It features ingredients that brewers likely have on hand and could brew quickly: a traditional, 6.5% alcohol by volume (abv) hazy India pale ale.

Some breweries remained faithful to Richardson’s recipe, while others got creative and put their own stamps on the recipe. J. Wakefield Brewing in Miami, for example, brewed its version with mango, passionfruit and guava.

“It’s not important that people follow the recipe we put out there,” says Matt Monahan, cofounder, Other Half. “Just so long as the [logo] is on it. The label means everything.”

The logo is seemingly everywhere these days, popping up on brewery to-go order forms and drinkers’ social media feeds. As of early this month, more than 700 breweries in 48 states and 51 countries had signed up to participate.

Griffin Claw Brewing Co. in Birmingham, Michigan, released its version of All Together last week. Sales Director Kyle VanDeventer called the public response “intense.”

“We sold out pretty damn quickly of the cans,” he says. “We’re still pouring draft but selling all those four packs assured us that not only are we missing our service industry brethren, so is our whole community.

“We don’t know what this world will look like in three weeks, but we know one thing for sure, it won’t look the same without our service industry friends and family. We want to make sure they’re O.K., and make sure that they know that we love and miss them.”

Other Half is not policing donations or even taking an overall tally. “It’s not a competition and we don’t want it to be. Every donation that goes to help someone in the industry is important, whether it’s $100 or $100,000,” says Monahan.

Some breweries banded together to donate their proceeds to a single charity. In New Jersey, more than a dozen companies are funneling sales dollars to the Brewery Strong initiative, which helps brewery and bar employees pay for critical needs.

The project gives contributing breweries a sense of pride and accomplishment.

“We’re so grateful to be in a position where we can participate in something like the All Together project, especially when so many of our colleagues and friends in the craft beer and hospitality industries are hurting right now,” says Derek Hannan, Communications Manager at Castle Island Brewing in Norwood, MA.

The Castle Island version of All Together sold out in less than a week.

“Our favorite part of Other Half’s vision for this collaborative fundraiser is every brewery’s freedom to choose a charity that will best serve their local hospitality community,” says Hannan. “It was a natural choice to donate the proceeds to The Greg Hill Foundation and Samuel Adams’ Restaurant Strong Fund, who are doing incredible things for hospitality workers in Massachusetts and beyond.”

FOAM Brewers in Burlington, Vermont are working with Shift Meals, a program started by local restaurant Skinny Pancake to provide meals to anyone who needs them. It aims to assist “laid-off restaurant workers, musicians, artists, gig workers, farmers, anyone affected by this crisis,” says Jonathan Farmer, a brewery co-owner.

“Not only does it benefit individuals who directly work in Vermont’s restaurants, bars, and breweries, but it also benefits the farmers, artists and musicians that are essential to doing what we do.”

“RERF issues grants to restaurant industry employees who have been impacted by Covid-19, including a decrease in wages or loss of employment,” says Matt Stevens, the brewery’s vice president of strategic impact.

In San Diego, funds raised by sales of Pure Project’s All Together beer remained close to home. A brewery spokesperson says the funds are helping “the large number of team members at Pure who have all been substantially affected by this global pandemic, as well as local organic farms and a local organic food prep company through the purchase of food for our team members in need.”

“Ultimately, I think this speaks to the reach of our [beer] community,” says Monahan. He notes that Other Half would release its third batch of All Together in the coming days. “The tragedy is very apparent; we can see who is suffering now that this humongous part of our economy just went down the drain.

“In the past in times of crisis we would gather at the bar…since we can’t do that anymore making this beer is one way that people who want to help can do it, either making it or buying it.”

]]>10 of the Best Bourbons and American Whiskeys for $40 and Underhttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/08/best-bourbon-expensive-guide/
Fri, 08 May 2020 14:00:12 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54099Getty

For some whiskey drinkers, an $80 bottle of single malt can feel like a steal. But the sweet spot for quality and affordability often falls in the $40 and under range.

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Bourbons and American whiskeys that cost less than your average tank of gas. From a Bourbon aged in stout barrels to an astonishingly affordable collaboration between legends of Kentucky and Japanese distilling, here are 10 of our favorite, affordable pours.

Recommended Bourbon and American Whiskey

Bernheim Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey; $30, 94 points. This seven-year-old small batch whiskey is a powerhouse. Oak and vanilla aromas skew sweet. The palate is deep and dark, silky and spicy, showing cocoa and espresso. Adding water doubles down on the espresso notes, bringing clove and black pepper forward into a big, grippy finish that sings with spice. —Kara Newman

Hotel Tango American Straight Bourbon; $35, 94 points. An easy-drinking, versatile crowd-pleaser right for a wide range of cocktails. The bright, fresh aroma balances oak and vanilla. The palate is smooth and light from first sip, with plenty of concentrated vanilla bean. Adding water coaxes a bit more spice into the finish, along with a fleeting butterscotch note. Aged two years. —K.N.

Benjamin Chapman 7-Year Whiskey; $39, 92 points. This wheated whiskey is a blend of 51% 10-year-old Canadian rye and 49% 7-year-old Canadian wheat. Look for a sweet vanilla bean aroma, echoed on the palate that ups the ante with sugar cookie and honey, finishing with an addictive cinnamon sizzle. Sip or mix. —K.N.

Larceny Bourbon; $25, 92 points. Copper in the glass, this wheated Bourbon offers allspice and cola aromas. The first sips are nutty and a touch drying, leading into hints of vanilla wafer and butterscotch, finishing with ginger and clove sparks. —K.N.

Legent Bourbon; $46, 92 points. A collaboration between Kentucky Bourbon-distiller Fred Noe and chief blender Shinji Fukoyo of Japan’s Suntory, this Bourbon is partially finished in wine and Sherry casks. The result is a caramel-rich nose and palate that reads almost like dulce de leche with a pleasantly silky texture. There’s a hint of dried fruit and spice on the exit. —K.N.

Bradshaw Bourbon; $40, 91 points. From former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw, this 2-year-old ­Bourbon is bottled at 51.9% “as a tribute to Terry Bradshaw’s passing completion rate of the same number.” What’s in the bottle is tinged with roasted nuts and vanilla on nose and palate, finishing with hints of black pepper and a waft of smoke. —K.N.

Giant Texas Bourbon Whiskey; $22, 91 points.A beer-lover’s whiskey, look for hops and oak on nose and palate, finishing long with a peppery tinge. The smallest splash of water snaps it into focus: suddenly it’s hoppy, chocolaty, spicy, different and quite tasty, trailing off into a spicy finish. Best Buy.—K.N.

Oppidan Small Batch 4 Grain Bourbon; $35, 89 points. The four grains in this Bourbon are corn, wheat, rye and malt. Add plenty of water to this 100-proofer, and watch it transform from oaky and fiery to nutty and sweet vanilla tones, finishing with clove zing and citrusy astringency. Best Buy.—K.N.

Penelope Bourbon; $35, 89 points. The aroma presents as spiced and sweet, reminiscent of a liqueur. The palate is light, showing allspice, chamomile and ginger, with a fleeting white floral note and hint of cedar. What’s in the bottle is a four-grain Bourbon (corn, rye, wheat, malted barley) distilled in Indiana, aged about two years, bottled in Kentucky, and named for the founder’s daughter. Best Buy. —K.N.

Beer Barrel Bourbon; $30, 88 points. Finished in Dragons Milk Stout Barrels for three months, this whiskey indeed has a very beerlike flavor profile, along with orange peel notes on nose and palate. A splash of water integrates the flavors, though hops still dominates the lively flavor profile. It finishes long with a bit of cedar and tobacco and spice. Best Buy. —K.N.

“Sémillon can be amazing and average,” says Pauline Lapierre Dietrich, winemaker for Château Haut-Rian in Bordeaux. It all depends on how winemakers treat it in the vineyard and winery, she says. Clone and site matter, as do yield size and vinification.

Light- to medium-bodied, with trademark waxiness, Sémillon’s aromas include hay, white flowers and lemon in youth. Those notes turn honeyed and toasty with age. It stars in white blends worldwide, especially alongside Sauvignon Blanc in the classic white wines of Bordeaux.

As a varietal wine, however, Sémillon is capable of stylistic acrobatics of balance and tension.

From sublime French dessert wines to dry and bright Australian bottles, Sémillon has incredible range when done right.

“Sémillon is deep and so complex, you never get bored,” says Lapierre Dietrich.

Eager to understand all the grape has to offer? Here’s a style guide to Sémillon around the world.

Vines in Sauternes / Photo by K D Leperi/Alamy

France

Sémillon is most known for its work at home in France, where it partners with Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle to create sweet wines from Sauternes and Barsac. To produce these wines, humid conditions are key. A fungus, Botrytis cinerea, grows on the fruit, and the resulting “noble rot” concentrates the sugars, flavors and acids as the grape shrivels.

In Bordeaux, winemakers have long made dry Sémillon expressions, too. A typical white wine includes Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and sometimes Muscadelle. Simple, fresh expressions hail from Entre-deux-Mers, where they are typically aged in stainless steel.

Sémillon is also included in the dry, oaked and ageable whites of Graves and Pessac-Léognan. Such wines are stars in the firmament of Bordeaux: full-bodied, creamy and capable of aging for decades.

“There’s an increase in Sémillon-based wines, both blended and single varietal, in the south,” she says. “Clos des Lunes, Château Guiraud’s Le G, Y from d’Yquem and R de Rieussec illustrate this trend.”

Australia

Much like Malbec’s emigration from Old World to New, Semillon, as it’s spelled without the accent Down Under, has established roots abroad. Though the grape grows broadly across the country, three regions have distinctive styles.

Today, styles vary from dry and fresh, to sweet and rich. Creation Wines, in coastal Hemel-en-Aarde, focuses on the grape’s capacity for brightness over breadth.

“We make a fresher, greener style, less waxy, that has a real salinity that’s appealing with food,” says winemaker Jean-Claude Martin.

One rarity largely particular to South Africa is Sémillon Gris, a mutation also called “red” Sémillon for its pink-skinned grapes. Thorne & Daughters makes a skin-fermented version called Tin Soldier that’s akin to an Italian ramato-style Pinot Grigio.

And several small producers feature Sémillon Gris and old-vine Sémillon, though Boekenhoutskloof has made ageworthy stuff “long before it was a thing,” says Jim Clarke, marketing manager for the Wines of South Africa trade group.

Chile

Sémillon was critical to Chile’s grape industry in the 1950s, but by the 1970s, many growers ripped it out in favor of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Today, much of its remaining acres feature 100-year-old vines that produce a distinctive style of Sémillon.

“Most winemakers working with Chile’s old-vine Sémillon are making these wines on an artisanal scale, with authentic and sensitive winemaking,” she says.

Though techniques vary, typical aromas of varietal Chilean Sémillon include citrus, florals and hay woven through a dry, fresh profile plumped with lees stirring for texture.

Winemakers Washington State and California produce Sémillon / Getty

United States

Though not widely planted in the U.S., Sémillon grows in Washington State and California. In Washington’s Columbia Valley, long warm days ripen the fruit, while brisk nights help with acid retention. Producers can achieve a rich, complex profile without sacrificing freshness. Typical aromatics include lemon, honeysuckle and orchard fruits. L’Ecole No. 41’s varietal bottles have earned the winery a soft spot in the hearts of Sémillon lovers.

In Napa, Forlorn Hope works with 70-year-old vines and ages its Nacré Sémillon for five years in bottles before release to emulate the racy, low-alcohol style of Hunter Valley. Natural wine producer Dirty & Rowdy also makes a skin-contact, concrete egg-fermented version. Other California winemakers feature Sémillon as the lead in Bordeaux-style blends.

About 10 years ago, Scott Zoccolillo went through a conversion. Skepticism turned into amazement, followed by searching, fervor and, finally, evangelism. It’s an experience shared by many sommeliers: an appreciation for Pennsylvania wine.

The bottle for Zoccolillo was Va La’s Silk Rosado. At the time, he worked as an assistant dining room director at Hotel DuPont in Delaware, when Va La winemaker Anthony Vietri gifted him the bottle after he helped direct a family wedding reception.

“I didn’t think much of it,” says Zoccolillo. “All I knew about Pennsylvania wines were the sticky sweet, strawberry wines and Moscatos. I drank it a month after he gave it to me, and I was so impressed by the quality, it gave me the motivation to search for others.”

Located in Avondale, about an hour outside of Philadelphia, Va La is an agrarian operation with just 6.7 acres of vineyards. Vietri uses native yeast for fermentation, practices sustainable agriculture, pioneered Italian field blends in the state and produced Pennsylvania’s first skin-contact wine.

Unknowingly, he set off a chain of events that would bring Pennsylvania wines into some of the state’s most esteemed dining rooms.

The evolution of Pennsylvania wine

As early as the mid-1990s, a handful of Philadelphia sommeliers had begun to add Pennsylvania wines to their lists. Sommelier Marnie Old recalls seeing Pennsylvania wines at the original incarnation of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and the shuttered Fountain at the Four Seasons. But with too few bottles that were both affordable and exceptional enough that could be offered by the glass, the state’s wines never really took off.

“It was a turning point for me. These wines were well made, interesting and exciting, and they came from 30 miles outside the city.” –Alexandra Cherniavsky, beverage manager, The Love

“The people drinking them were tourists,” says Old. “I had no luck trying to convince Philadelphians to try them.”

More than a decade after Old championed its Chardonnay and Chambourcin, Zoccolillo began to build the state’s selections on his menu at Nectar in suburban Berwyn. He also launched a series of blind tasting events that would become the PA Sommelier Judgment, an annual tasting of 100-plus wines by more than 20 state sommeliers and beverage professionals.

“It was a turning point for me,” says Alexandra Cherniavsky, an advanced sommelier who grew up in Chester County. “These wines were well made, interesting and exciting, and they came from 30 miles outside the city.”

Alexandra Cherniavsky / Photo by Ted Nghiem

The annual tasting has even revised Old’s views on the state.

“In each of the three times I’ve judged the event, it’s changed my previous judgment,” she says. “I used to say that Chardonnay had the most potential in Pennsylvania. I’ve said that in magazines. But now, I think Riesling and Grüner Veltliner are showing the most potential for quality.”

Like many emerging wine regions, Pennsylvania still produces its fair share of sweet clunkers, along with wines from international grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon that don’t do well in the state’s microclimates. But wineries are evolving, especially as farmers plant varieties better suited to Pennsylvania’s cool, humid weather.

Galer Estate and Maple Springs make award-winning Albariños. Galen Glen sold out of its 2018 production of Red German Bastards, a blend of Cabernet Dorsa, Zweigelt and Regent. The hearty hybrid Chambourcin has long been one of the state’s success stories.

Now Carmine, a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan, has joined its ranks. Winemakers in Chester County, west of Philadelphia grow Italian varieties like Nebbiolo, Barbera, Malvasia Bianca, Fiano and more. Merlot and Cabernet Franc have shown promise, and on the esoteric side, Fero Vineyards’ Saperavi was named one the state’s best red wines at the 2019 PA Sommelier Judgment.

Local roots, global influence

Mario Mazza’s family has made wine near Erie for nearly 50 years at Mazza Vineyards, and he’s seen priorities and practices shift over time. Many have recruited qualified winemakers from other parts of the world.

In other cases, locals have studied elsewhere before returning home. Prior to rejoining his family’s winery, Mazza made wine in the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills, Australia, where he graduated with a master’s degree in enology from the University of Adelaide.

Erin Troxell, daughter of Galen Glen founders Sarah and Galen Troxell, earned a degree in viticulture and enology from Cornell University, followed by a master’s degree from the Vinifera EuroMaster program in Germany and France. She has interned in Nahe, Napa and New Zealand and worked for several years at E. & J. Gallo.

“Second and third generations of winemakers, plus new people coming into the industry, are purposeful and have much more focused plans,” says Mazza.

When Jennifer Eckinger, currently the executive director of the Pennsylvania Winery Association, began work for the group 15 years ago, there were 54 wineries in the state. Now, there are more than 300.

The Drunk Grandma’s Life tray at Bloomsday Cafe / Photo by Caroline Hacthett

The best bottles seem to land first in Philadelphia. Tim Kweeder runs the beverage program at Bloomsday, and he was one of the first Philadelphia sommeliers to push natural wines and educate about their value, stories and charms.

“Our two biggest requests are skin contact [wines] and pét-nat,” he says. “They’ve become terms that people know, like someone saying, ‘I want your IPA or Cabernet.’ ”

“There’s still a large amount of wineries catering to old-fashioned tastes and boasting that everything is heavily oaked. But a lot of wineries are on the right path. We’ll eventually connect when that happens.” –Tim Kweeder, beverage director/general manager, Bloomsday Cafe

In the last few years, Kweeder has seen several wineries like Wayvine and Vox Vineti move toward lower-intervention winemaking practices. In part, that’s because of an open dialog between those winemakers and sommeliers.

“There’s still a large amount of wineries catering to old-fashioned tastes and boasting that everything is heavily oaked,” he says. “But a lot of wineries are on the right path. We’ll eventually connect when that happens.”

Pennsylvania’s by-the-glass revolution

The beverage program at Martha in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood is based on the concept of microbial terroir (a.k.a. natural fermentation).

Martha has an extensive selection of local beers and a wine list made up of mostly Pennsylvania selections. Jon Medlinsky, who built the list, sought out small wineries and convinced them to sell to the bar.

“Part of the evolution is me finding these wines,” says Medlinsky. “So many of them just aren’t talked about that much.” He cites Pinnacle Ridge, which has produced award-winning sparkling wine for nearly 20 years.

Every wine at Martha is available by the glass. You can sit on a barstool and eat an Italian hoagie waffle alongside a $30 flight of Va La.

“Part of why we offer wines by the glass is that we don’t want Pennsylvania wines to be this rarefied thing,” says Medlinsky.

Old doubts that Pennsylvania will ever be a value source for wine. Growing conditions are too challenging and land is too expensive. But the increased number of Pennsylvania wines on restaurant lists has helped to catapult their popularity. At The Love in Philadelphia, Cherniavsky’s team is quick to pour samples for guests hesitant to order Pennsylvania wine.

“People are always open to a sip,” she says.

The staff at The Love, in Philadelphia, being led through a wine tasting / Photo by Kelly Smith

Rewriting outdated liquor laws

In 2016, the state updated some of its arcane liquor laws. One change allowed breweries to apply for licenses to sell wine and liquor at a fraction of the cost of a traditional liquor license, as long as the products came from Pennsylvania producers.

The new laws precipitated Kelly Peterson Bates to return home to Pittsburgh. She had worked in Chicago for a decade, which included years spent as beverage director of Alpana Singh’s Boarding House.

“Every single time, you can see it in their faces. They’re thinking, ‘No way that’s Pennsylvania wine.’ ” –Kelly Peterson Bates, general manager, Cinderlands Beer Co.

Peterson Bates joined Cinderlands Beer Co., and its two locations now feature eight to 10 Pennsylvania wines by the glass. To find those wines, much like Medlinsky, she spends weekends driving around the Pennsylvania countryside, hunting down great producers and bottles.

Producers can now also ship to in-state customers, and most significantly, grocery stores have been permitted to sell wine. It represents the largest growth area for wineries like Mazza, who offers both premium wines and “cheap and cheerful” bottlings tailored for grocery shelves.

A young Pittsburgh entrepreneur, Christian Simmons, found loopholes in state liquor laws that allowed him to open Pennsylvania Libations, a boutique liquor store with 100% Pennsylvania-made products. It’s the only privately owned liquor store in the state and acts as a wholesaler for restaurants and bars, too.

Simmons and his general manager, Jeremy Noah, are in the final stages of opening a Pennsylvania wine store with a separate brewpub hosted by Helltown Brewing housed in the same location, and wholesale operation. Fourteen wineries have signed on so far, along with a few mead producers.

Big state, bigger dreams

Once it opens, Pennsylvania Libations’ new venture should introduce consumers to a wider variety of the state’s wines. It could also help get bottlings from small producers into restaurants.

While restaurants can buy directly from wineries, it’s not always an easy transaction. Wineries and AVAs are spread across prohibitive distances. Va La does not ship. The team at Waltz Vineyards in Manheim offered to drive halfway to Pittsburgh to drop off wines with Peterson Bates, but she couldn’t lose two hours of her week to retrieve the cases.

“You have to realize, as a buyer in Pennsylvania, you’re working with a farmer who might have a three-person operation, and deliveries might come every couple of weeks,” says Steve Wildy, beverage director of Urban Outfitters’ portfolio of restaurants.

Wildy first poured Karamoor from kegs at Alla Spina eight years ago. He now manages beverage programs in Philadelphia, Glen Falls and Devon, prime wine country.

“It’s a big hurdle with any wine scene,” says Wildy. “You have a crew of young buyers who have a wall up against anything local. It’s perceived as uncool. I was the same way.

“But it’s hard to poo-poo things in your backyard, especially if you’re not connecting with farmers. The younger sommelier community is starting to realize they can have these direct relationships. We have the opportunity to help with harvest and to visit wineries.”

“It’s a big hurdle with any wine scene. You have a crew of young buyers who have a wall up against anything local. It’s perceived as uncool. I was the same way.” –Steve Wildy, beverage director, URBN

Marnie Old consults on lists for Nitro Bar and soon-to-open West Reading Motor Club in West Reading. For the latter, she anticipates about 20 Pennsylvania wines on its 150-label list. Jeremy Nolen, the chef, specializes in German and Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, which makes wines made from Germanic varieties an obvious choice.

Stephen Wood manages the beverage program at The Pressroom, one of the oldest restaurants in Lancaster. Like Wildy, he poured Pennsylvania wines for years at various restaurants in town, but he’s only recently been inspired to retool The Pressroom’s wine list.

“In the past few years, guests have become more open to trying local wines,” says Wood. “Everyone thought Pennsylvania wine was a sweet product… But people need to understand those aren’t the only wines made in Pennsylvania.

“I’m passionate about it right now, and for the first time, I have the ability to make buying decisions that will educate not only guests, but also our bartenders and servers, about Pennsylvania wines.”

Of Germany’s 13 regions for quality winemaking, the Mosel may be the most renowned. Known for ageworthy Riesling and terraced vineyards along the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer rivers, the Mosel has produced memorable, important wines for centuries.

Near Germany’s border with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Mosel is a cool-climate region. The higher-quality vineyards are located alongside the Mosel River and its tributaries, as temperatures can be warmer there. One defining characteristic of the region, besides its rivers, are its soils.

The Mosel is particularly known for its blue and volcanic red slate soils, which provides excellent drainage for grapevines. It’s well suited for a region that sees a fair amount of rainfall.

“The steep soils allow the sun to be caught ideally for the wines,” she says. “And the slate soils allow a very beautiful, salty minerality absorbed by the vines. Also, they can save the heat very well.”

Slate also provides different flavor profiles for the grapes grown in it.

“Blue slate is the most common in the region and yields very delicate wines, with primary fruit flavors that tend toward lemon, white peach and green apple,” says Ernst Loosen, owner/winemaker of the Mosel’s esteemed Dr. Loosen. “Red slate tends to produce wines with a darker aromatic profile and a more muscular structure. We can’t explain why, exactly, but we see it every year.”

The Mosel River is often regarded as three sections: the Upper Mosel, the Middle Mosel and the Lower Mosel.

The majority of the area’s vineyards are located within the Middle Mosel, or Mittelmosel. In the Mosel, there are also six districts, known as bereiche, and 19 vineyard designations, known as grosslage. There are also 524 single-vineyard designations, or einzellagen.

Harvesting with a tractor in the Mosel/Jochen Tack/Alamy

The steep slopes that rise from the banks of the river are, famously, terraced for winemaking. They’re also considered some of the most labor-intensive and dangerous in the winemaking world. Vines are typically staked directly into the ground to help stabilize them. Terraced vineyards have the benefit of sunshine, but one pitfall in wet years is erosion.

The use of machines on the steep slopes is a nearly impossible task, so grapes in the Mosel are hand-picked. These days, however, some modern conveniences have helped make winemaking easier.

“[There] is now a caterpillar [tractor] available that we can use for different vineyard work through the season, like working the soil, which helps us and makes life in the vineyards a bit easier,” says Dr. Prüm, “Yet still, the steep slopes are very labor-intensive.”

Is Mosel Wine Sweet?

The grape of renown in this region is Riesling, although other grapes thrive here like Elbling and Müller-Thurgau. Roughly 62% of the Mosel is planted to Riesling, which can be made into bone dry, off-dry and even dessert-style wines.

“The Mosel region and Riesling are uniquely suited to one another,” says Loosen. “Riesling is a winter-hardy variety that benefits from the Mosel’s cool climate, where the grapes can ripen slowly over a long period. Riesling needs long hang time for maximum flavor development. This develops intense flavors without high alcohol, giving Mosel Rieslings their signature lightness and finesse.”

The lower alcohol by volume (abv) and higher residual sugar is because full vinification, the conversion of almost all sugar to alcohol, can be challenging with cool climate grapes. Other grapes grown in the Mosel include Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder), Kerner, Pinot Blanc, Dornfelder, Pinot Gris and Bacchus.

Riesling grapes/Getty

Most wine scholars believe that the Romans planted the first vineyards in the Mosel around the 2nd century. By the 4th century, the vineyards had already been committed to paper by the Roman poet Ausonius.

“From afar, the vine leaves tremble in the sight of the emitting embers, and the grape glistens swelling in the mirror of crystalline tide,” he wrote of the Mosel, around the year 371. It was not until the Middle Ages that the wine emerged as central to daily life.

By the 18th century, the region had become more closely aligned with Riesling. Eventually, Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony decreed that every vine grown must be Riesling. Although that rule fell out of favor, it impacted the overall style of Mosel wine.

Following a series of poor vintages in the mid-1800s, German winemakers were permitted to add sugar to grape must before vinification, a process known as chaptalization.

Intended to level the playing field in poor vintages, it had the opposite effect. Americans began to associate German winemaking with sweet, somewhat unserious wines.

Most serious collectors have regarded the Mosel as noteworthy despite this. Chaptalization can still be used, but it’s not permitted in Prädikatswein, the superior quality wine designation established by the German government in 1971. This plays into the important decision of when to harvest grapes.

Riesling vines in spring/Getty

The Different Types of German Wine

“Riesling shines through its purity, so most winemaking on the Mosel is aimed at preserving the freshness and crystalline purity of the fruit,” says Loosen. The longer grapes stay on the vine, the riper they become. And Prädikatswein is based on ripeness, not the sweetness of the final wine.

Dry or off-dry wines that are around 8–10% abv are called kabinett. The next ripeness level is spätlese, made from grapes that have spent more time on the vine. They will be lighter in body than a kabinett wine.

Auslese wines are hand-chosen from clusters and can have some Botrytis cinerea, the so-called “noble rot.” These wines are typically semi-sweet or sweet and tend to be lower in alcohol.

Beerenauslese, or BA, wines are rare, but not nearly so as the honeyed Trockenbeerenauslese, or TBA, wines. TBA wines come from grapes so affected by botrytis that they dried and shriveled on the vine, leaving nothing but nectar behind.

Eiswein is perhaps the most coveted treat: wines made from grapes that have frozen on the vine.

In the Mosel, refinement is the point. Winemakers work with what they have, and reach incredible heights as a result.

“[For] us, Mosel stands for elegance, not necessarily power, so our aim is not to produce the most powerful, concentrated, big wines, but elegant, fine, complex wines,” says Dr. Prüm. “You should be tempted to drink a second, and a third wine, since ‘desire for more’ is one of the attributes of a great wine, in our opinion.”

The novel coronavirus pandemic and shelter-in-place orders have forced the wine industry to shift focus toward digital sales and marketing. The latest Nielsen data shows alcohol e-commerce has more than doubled compared to this time one year ago. Wine has enjoyed the largest success, making up nearly 70% of total online retail sales tracked in the report.

It’s no surprise that wine clubs previously dedicated to the online sphere have seen a substantial uptick in business.

Pre-coronavirus, NakedWines.com was already one of the leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine businesses in the U.S. At sales of $3.2 billion, DTC shipping represented 10.8% of all retail wine sales for 2019, according to the 2019 Direct To Consumer Wine Shipping Report published by Sovos ShipCompliant and Wines Vines Analytics. As expected, consumers’ shift to online shopping has increased those numbers. To keep up, Naked Wines says it has hired 80 new positions, including customer service, data technology and marketing roles, in April 2020.

“The plans we have in place use our position of strength and size to create the best customer experience available,” says Max Miller, Naked Wines’ newly appointed president. “We need to continue to invest in that and make it better.”

Naked Wines works directly with independent winemakers, using funding provided by subscribers to assist with wine production, sales and marketing. The growth and success of the retailer means more opportunities for partnering winemakers.

The company also recently announced it will allocate $5 million to welcome new winemakers into its platform, specifically those affected by coronavirus. Those impacted by the crisis are encouraged apply for funds on Naked Wines’ site.

“It was very apparent very quickly that the Covid pandemic was going to be challenging,” says Naked Wines’ CEO Nick Devlin. “We’re in a fortunate position to be trading well and feel a responsibility. We can use what we have—our [angel investors] and our assets—to help good winemakers who are struggling.”

Offerings from 90+ Cellars / Photo by Oveth Martinez

Winemaker Matt Parish, whose resume includes stints at major brands such as Beringer, Stags’ Leap Winery and Etude, said the e-commerce retailer not only helped him build his independent brand, but continuously pushes him in his craft.

“Angels provide reviews and ratings which are used to evaluate the success or otherwise of that particular wine,” says Parish. “As a winemaker, I respond to comments daily, as their relationship and support are very important.”

Parish believes those relationships will help him through the current marketplace shift.

“DTC and online sales will be significant channels in the future,” he says. “We saw growth in both over the last 10 years, but Covid accelerated this phenomenon. I see a bright future for my brand and others like it sold online.”

“We’ve seen a lot of new customer growth—that’s the big story,” says Brian Smith, cofounder and COO of Winc, another DTC wine business.

According to company representatives, the online wine club, which sells proprietary wine brands, has seen a 798% increase in new member sign-ups between March 15 and April 4, when compared to the prior three-week period. In March, Winc had 42,266 new members and an 80% increase in revenue from February. When April numbers come in, Winc expects to have added 57,500 new members and about 55% month-over-month sequential growth.

However, the company still faces challenges. Winc’s brands are built on globally sourced grapes and wine.

“It’s so much better to go and visit with partners in person,” says Smith. “It’s less efficient to be sending tank samples all over the world, but that’s what we’re faced with at the moment.”

Fortunately, Winc has not had to renegotiate or cancel any contracts, instead moving up certain orders to meet consumer demand. The retailer has also expanded its customer relations and warehousing departments.

“We’ve been in a very active mode,” says Smith. “Challenges are doubling in the warehouse and in membership service. That’s what we had to orient immediately to make sure we could continue to deliver and operate efficiently.”

90+ Cellars’ business model is also built on partnerships with wineries domestic and abroad. “Working closely with these partners and building trust over time, we can continue supporting each other through ups and downs in the market, which has proven especially important during this time,” says Kevin Mehra, the company’s founder/president.

Unlike Naked Wines or Winc, 90+ Cellars sells their proprietary wines to independent retailers as well as big-box grocers. E-commerce sales are run through third-party online channels such as Drizly and Instacart.

“The new normal means more consumers are comfortable purchasing alcohol online,” says Terry Lozoff, 90+ Cellars’ vice president of marketing. “Instacart and Drizly are not only convenient but are directly connected to our retail partners.”

Photo by NakedWine

European associates of 90+ Cellars have experienced a heavy impact. “Our Italian partners, who produce some of our most popular wines, like Prosecco and Pinot Grigio, have been hit hard by Covid,” says Mehra.

While coronavirus may have added more challenges, including shipping and bottling delays, the company has been able to keep their supply chain moving.

“Coincidentally, we were already coordinating with [Italian suppliers], as well as our French producers, on recent tariff issues,” says Lozoff.

Beverage alcohol marketplace Drizly recently reported explosive year-over-year growth in new customers at the end of March. Sales are 392% “over baseline,” or what the company would have expected for this time of year, for the week of April 26. Wine makes up 39% of those sales.

Will this trend continue? And how confident are these online platforms that consumer loyalty will extend beyond the days of sheltering in place?

“The hope is to drive awareness to consumers who were previously unaware about the ability to purchase great wine online and, with that, provide an experience of community and content that’s unmatched in stores,” says Naked Wines’ Miller. “Once they try it, it is very likely they will become long-term customers.”

Ricardo Molina stocked up on three weeks’ worth of fajita fillings before he reopened Molina’s Cantina last weekend in Houston. It’s an insurance policy against market fluctuations due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“If the food supply is going to get tight, those prices will start to creep up, and then we won’t be able to offer the same menu,” explains Molina. His grandfather opened Molina’s Cantina in 1941, and it’s served generations of Houstonians.

Molina is one of countless restaurateurs navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. Last week, Texas governor Greg Abbott rescinded shelter-in-place restrictions across the state. As of May 1, Texas restaurants can serve guests seated at least six feet from one another in dining rooms filled to 25% capacity (50% in certain rural counties).

Public health concerns aside, the wave of newly opened, heavily restricted businesses present several economic quandaries. It’s hard to run a profitable restaurant in the best circumstances. Can any restaurant make money if its capacity is significantly reduced?

“If we had to lose 10% of our capacity… we would lose our derriere financially,” says Ti Martin, co-proprietor of Commander’s Palace, an 1893 New Orleans landmark. “The profit margin is so thin in restaurants. At 25% or 50%, it doesn’t work.”

“I can’t imagine any business could successfully and profitably operate under those circumstances,” says Jeff Stockton, SE Market Manager, Spiribam, and a former bar manager in Atlanta. “There will be added challenges to ordering parts and prepping necessities. You’d have to run a skeleton crew to maintain balance on the volume. Seems like a hasty decision with much more risk than reward.”

It’s difficult to answer any question about the U.S. restaurant business in absolute terms because the category itself is so broad. Mom and pop shops sit shoulder to shoulder with corporate behemoths. Factors like access to institutional capital, ownership model, labor market, and lease or mortgage terms vary enormously, and all play enormous roles in a restaurant’s financial health.

Occupancy expenses, such as monthly rent or mortgage payments, are the largest fixed cost for many bars and restaurants, explains Dr. Aaron Adalja, an assistant professor of food and beverage management at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration. In large cities like New York, it’s not uncommon for 8–10% of restaurant revenue to go directly to occupancy costs.

“That’s just barely viable when a restaurant is operating at full capacity,” says Adalja. “If you’re operating at 25% capacity, 8–10% becomes such a large component of revenue, it doesn’t leave nearly enough money left over for all your other expenses, like labor and food, or any money for profit.”

“I can tell you from direct experience that it’s virtually impossible to make a profit [at 25–50% reduced capacity] without numerous concessions being made,” says Rick Camac, dean of Culinary Management, Institute of Culinary Education. “The best possible solution is to negotiate with everyone everywhere. Negotiate with your vendors, negotiate with your landlord, negotiate with everyone. The conversation has to be, ‘Listen, we’re in this together.’”

Camac suggests restaurateurs make three budgetary projections as they reconsider coronavirus-era expenses: six months, one year and two years. They will have to adapt in real time to changing market conditions.

“I see literally 24 months before we go back to any sort of business resembling pre-Covid… In the next six months, it’s all about what can you do to incrementally increase your sales, which will probably have something to do with takeaway and delivery.”

In a recent Nielsen survey of 1,600 people in New York, California, Illinois and Florida, 23% said they would return to bars and restaurants as soon as they reopen.

But these adaptations come with their own troubles. While income from delivery and takeout can help ameliorate expenses, commission fees from third-party delivery apps might run anywhere from 18–30%. As a result, the benefit of increased delivery volume quickly erodes.

“It’s not a silver bullet. Operators have to be really careful to understand the unit economics of delivery and whether or not that business model actually works for them, or if it’s really just postponing the inevitable,” says Adalja.

While many restaurateurs hoped to find relief in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a series of low-interest federal loans, only 9% of PPP loan approvals have reportedly gone to hospitality businesses so far. Many who did receive PPP loans remain unsure of the forgiveness terms and are hesitant to cash in. Some suggest that PPP requirements to spend 75% of their loan amounts on payroll expenses, excluding independent contractors, are ill-suited to the restaurant business.

“It really is a dilemma. I don’t know if all these states that are opening now have really thought it through,” says Elizabeth Schaible, associate professor/department chair, Hospitality Management, New York City College of Technology.

So why reopen at all? Many restaurateurs feel they owe it to their communities and employees.

Back in Texas, the Original Ninfa’s on Navigation, a landmark restaurant in Houston, relaunched dinner service at the permitted 25% capacity last Friday. Niel Morgan, the owner of Legacy Restaurants, Ninfa’s parent company, doesn’t expect the dining room will make money, but he was eager to get some hourly staffers back on payroll.

“I obviously can’t be profitable at 25% capacity, but a lot of the expenses of having a restaurant continue whether you’re open or not, particularly if you continue to employ people… With the marginal costs of opening the dining room, we should at least break even, and we’ll get some people back to work, which is good,” he says.

Legacy Restaurants retained most of its salaried staff during the shutdown. Occupancy expenses are also manageable because the company owns its building.

Morgan doesn’t expect to have problems filling available seats. “People started calling for reservations before the governor finished speaking last week,” he says.

“People definitely want to be economically active. They want to work, and I want to be able to hire people.”

Despite this enthusiasm, consumer confidence is a moving target. In a recent Nielsen survey of 1,600 people in New York, California, Illinois and Florida, 23% said they would return to bars and restaurants as soon as they reopen. That alters the calculus for restaurants attempting to balance their budgets with reduced capacity.

Even without social distancing restrictions, demand will not immediately return to 100%. Some people long for the sense of normalcy that dining out can offer, but others hesitate to share a dining room with strangers and masked servers.

“The restaurant business, it’s going to be changed,” says Molina. “I don’t know the level of fear our guests are going to have, as well as our staff. Are some of them going to be scared to come in? We haven’t seen that yet, but we don’t know.”

The future of U.S. restaurants is uncertain in every capacity, but governmental policies will have an enormous impact, suggests Dr. Adalja. “If by some stroke of luck, a significant amount of funding is allotted to independent restaurants over the next few months, that could shift everything.

“We all know trying to predict what’s going to happen with federal policy is like shaking a magic eight ball at this point. But I can’t imagine any scenario where things go back to the way they were.”

Chardonnay is the white wine grape most drinkers associate with Oregon, but in recent years, winemakers across the state have been exploring the immense potential of Sauvignon Blanc.

It’s certainly an underdog. In 2018, Sauvignon Blanc barely registered, with just 69 acres planted to the grape. Only 51 of those acres were harvested. And yet, in terms of style, value and quality, Sauvignon Blanc is arguably the best, least-known varietal white wine made in Oregon.

The growing interest in the grape is spread across the state, from the northern Willamette Valley to the southern Rogue Valley. Producers include large wineries and boutique operations.

Certified Organic Croft Vineyard / Photo by Amber Gurubel

Andrew Rich began to make Sauvignon Blanc for his namesake winery in 1999, and he sees a growing interest.

It’s good for growers, says Rich, because it’s a “niche” grape that’s not difficult to sell even when other varieties are in oversupply. For wineries, it doesn’t require extensive aging or expensive new barrels.

“Consumers like to try new things, and Sauvignon Blanc fits nicely into the way people like to eat and drink these days,” he says. “Simple dishes work well with crisp, refreshing, aromatic wines.”

King Estate is often credited with putting Oregon Pinot Gris on the global map, so it’s big news when the winery embraces another white wine grape.

After six years of offering limited (club only) experiments with single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, the winery introduced a blended Willamette Valley version nationally in 2019. It’s rich with luscious fruit, including citrus and fresh-picked peaches.

King Estate Vineyard / Photo by Taylor King

Ryan Johnson, King Estate’s director of brand marketing, says that before the winery brings a bottling to the broader market, it looks hard at the national trends.

“We became reassured to see that there has been a consistent healthy pace for luxury-tiered Sauvignon Blanc,” he says. “In fact, in the past 52 weeks, the $15 to $19.99 Sauvignon Blanc category has grown 16.5% … In today’s marketplace, those are strong numbers.”

In the Rogue Valley, 2 Hawk winemaker Kiley Evans jumped aboard with Sauvignon Blanc after extensive discussions, research and visits with growers and producers in Oregon, California and New Zealand. To match site to variety, he organized benchmark tastings with wines from Bordeaux, the Loire Valley, New Zealand and others.

“We found that for our site, with its clayey-loam soils, Continental climate and wide diurnal temperature swings, our wines fit somewhere between the racy acidity of New Zealand, the full-blown tropical fruit of Napa/Sonoma, and the steely minerality of the Loire,” says Evans.

Some of the ripest, richest Sauvignon Blanc on the West Coast comes from River’s Edge, in Oregon’s Elkton subappellation. Mike Landt’s wines frequently top 15% alcohol, yet rarely seem overblown. Its southerly location, says Landt, gives more heat during summer afternoons. Nights are cool, due to the ocean’s proximity.

“That combination allows us to achieve a bit more ripeness without creating flabbiness in the wine,” he says.

There may never be just one style of Oregon Sauvignon Blanc, but the diversity is a tasting adventure all on its own.

Andrew Rich 2018 Croft Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc(Willamette Valley); $24, 92 points. A sensational take on an emerging Oregon style for Sauvignon Blanc, this rich, vibrant and deep wine rocks the palate with citrus, white peach and pear skin flavors. It’s clearly varietal without being grassy or overly herbaceous, and the acids have been rounded off with just enough fruit sweetness to cut out any bitter edges. Editors’ Choice.

Division 2018 La Frontière Sauvignon Blanc (Oregon); $24, 92 points. Naturally fermented in a mix of stainless and neutral barrels, this is a tart and juicy wine with classic varietal flavors. Sappy and stylish, it’s loaded with citrus fruits hovering close to New Zealand in style, though the Loire is the inspiration. Kudos to winemakers Kate Norris and Thomas Monroe for upping the Sauv Blanc game in Oregon. Editors’ Choice.

2Hawk 2018 Sauvignon Blanc (Rogue Valley); $26, 91 points. A turnabout in style from the previous vintage, this is a rich, dense wine, with a mix of Meyer lemon, apricot and mango fruit. This sees time in 40% neutral oak and 60% stainless steel, the former of which has aided in rounding out the palate. Editors’ Choice.

Melrose 2018 Sauvignon Blanc (Umpqua Valley); $22, 91 points. A standout at Melrose, this is bursting with ripe grapefruit and a pungent, penetrating grassiness, often noted with this grape. It’s much closer to New Zealand than to a Loire Valley style, with notes of lemongrass adding some spice. The length and overall power are impressive. Editors’ Choice.

Capitello 2018 Croft Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Willamette Valley); $20, 90 points. Croft is becoming the go-to vineyard for a burgeoning interest in Oregon Sauv Blanc, at least among winemakers. This is a pungent, racy, herbaceous wine, which nonetheless brings ripe citrus and pineapple fruit into the center ring. It was fermented and aged for five months in concrete eggs, another growing trend for white wines in Oregon.

King Estate 2018 Sauvignon Blanc (Willamette Valley); $19, 89 points. King Estate is jumping further into Sauvignon Blanc with this affordable complement to the single-vineyard Croft cuvée. At first taste you might say this is all peaches all the time, as that fruit flavor totally dominates the palate. But let it breathe, and a mix of tropical and citrus fruits come together in a luscious array. A portion was fermented in concrete (the rest in stainless), which adds some welcome texture to the body of the wine.

So, should you be drinking Pinot Grigio? We advocate trying a wide array of wines and styles, and caution against getting stuck in a rut of the familiar. Pinot Grigio is no different from any other wine that’s received needless backlash after outsize spikes in popularity—think Merlot, Zinfandel, Shiraz or oaked Chardonnay.

But Pinot Grigio continues to provide the backbone for fresh, accessible, quality wines at consistently affordable price points. Far from a one trick pony, the grape can create crisp and light-bodied wines with a citrus-forward profile, to rich, floral and fuller-bodied offerings.

Whether you’re a Pinot Grigio lover seeking something new, or an unabashed cynic just looking for a list to fume over, here are 10 Italian selections we believe should be in your glass.

]]>Low-Waste Bars and Restaurants Are Building a New Paradigmhttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/05/low-waste-bars-environment/
Tue, 05 May 2020 13:00:46 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54039Nothing going to waste, Rhodora Wine Bar / Photo by Liz Clayman

In Brooklyn, New York, Rhodora Wine Bar evokes a neighborhood watering hole transported from Europe. Details like distressed wood, mismatched chairs and marble tables honed matte with wear suggest the passage of time. A pared-down menu of tapas and natural wines is framed by second-hand furnishings, while upcycled tiles that adorn the bar suggest an ethos of resourcefulness.

However, resourcefulness manifests itself through more than décor and dining: Rhodora is a zero-waste establishment.

Zero waste is a small but critical movement growing within the hospitality industry. Forward-thinking wine bar and restaurant owners are hoping to transform, if not eliminate, the unsustainable waste produced by bars and restaurants. It’s a philosophy that advocates the redesign of resource life cycles for reuse, one that mirrors nature.

The theory? Send nothing to a landfill.

The statistics are staggering. A 2018 report from ReFED, a nonprofit organization that targets food waste, found that U.S. restaurants generate 11.4 million tons of organic trash each year, at a cost of more than $25 billion.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food waste and packaging account for nearly 45% of trash sent to U.S. landfills. The agency also estimates that among food-service providers, from 4–10% of the food they purchase lands in the garbage, rather than on customer plates.

Small plates and zero waste, Rhodora Wine bar / Photo by Liz Clayman

Henry Rich and Halley Chambers, owner and deputy director of Rhodora, respectively, were inspired by the work of Chef Douglas McMaster and his zero-waste “pre-industrial food system” restaurant Silo in London. Both share concern for the volume of plastic floating in oceans and how food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

“At a certain point, it felt irresponsible continue with business as usual and not take a radical stand,” says Rich.

Consumers are starting to take notice. In a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, around half of respondents claim a restaurant’s recycling and food waste program factors into dining choices. However, whether the larger dining public factor these initiatives into their purchasing decisions is another question entirely.

Camilla Marcus wants to tap into that concern. As Manhattan’s first zero-waste establishment, West Bourne runs on the triple bottom-line principle of “people, planet, profit.” To Marcus, sustainability objectives do not conflict with running a successful business.

An all-day restaurant and wine bar in the SoHo neighborhood, West Bourne partners with the Robin Hood Foundation to donate 1% of every purchase to The Door, a nonprofit that supports local hospitality training for youth. West Bourne hires most of its team through the organization.

Marcus, a native of Los Angeles, created a menu and wine list in homage to Californian cuisine. Many of the wines she sources are natural and/or sustainable options from the West Coast, and she ensures bottles are recycled. During the planning phase, Marcus consulted with FoodPrint, experts in waste hauling, to find a vendor who recycles and composts properly.

West Bourne in New York City, a TRUE Zero Waste Silver-certified business / Photo by Nicole Franzen

As many Americans now know, not all recycling, whether glass or cardboard, is processed appropriately. Wild Olive, an Italian restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina, prefers compostable packaging that the staff can handle themselves, in line with the restaurant’s ethos of “farm to table…table to farm.”

Wild Olive became South Carolina’s first Certified Green Restaurant in South Carolina in 2013. The Chef, Jacques Larson, with Owner Doug Godley and General Manager Jason Parrish, find local sources for the bulk of their products. The restaurant recycles or composts 85% of its waste, more than 1,000 pounds a week.

However, challenges to reaching 100% remain.

“Zero waste is difficult because of the necessity of plastic wrap,” says Parrish. “As much as we despise it, there is nothing else that seals as well and is as cost effective.”

Every year, Parrish invites Christina Moskos, Charleston County’s recycling coordinator, to speak to his staff on the how and why of composting and recycling.

“It’s amazing how little actual trash a restaurant can produce if everyone is focused on this goal,” says Parrish.

To run a low or zero-waste business poses challenges beyond just recycling, reuse and composting. Sometimes, it’s the little things, like plastic tape.

Rich and Chambers asked a vendor to switch from plastic tape to paper, a change the vendor made for all its accounts. Others who wouldn’t conform to Rhodora’s packaging guidelines were dropped. A baker that delivered in plastic was replaced by one that biked bread to the wine bar in linen bags.

At West Bourne, Marcus believes her success depends on working with vendors aligned in ethos. She sources beans from Counter Culture Coffee, which operates with sustainable practices and publishes transparency reports. West Bourne’s largest supplier, Baldor Foods, began steps toward zero waste output in 2016.

There’s no single legal definition or regulation for “zero-waste.” However, certification groups have begun to pop up to provide guidance and support.

After two years of effort, including 12 months of compiling waste-tracking data, West Bourne became a TRUE Zero Waste Silver-certified business.

“You have to demonstrate that 90% of what you throw out is diverted away from landfills,” says Marcus. “If you miss this goal for a month, you start again.”

The recently opened Dispatch, in St. Catherines, Canada / Photo by Brilynn Ferguson

Dispatch, opened recently in St. Catharines in the Niagara region of Canada, is a recent entrant to the movement. Chef/Co-owner Adam Hynam-Smith took inspiration from Silo, as well as Matt Orlando’s Amass in Copenhagen.

“I started to question the sustainability of the industry and my own cooking techniques,” says Hynam-Smith.

Served alongside a thoughtful selection of regional Canadian wines, Dispatch’s menu riffs on North African and Middle Eastern mezze. Rather than simply compost scraps, the kitchen flexes its creative muscle to upcycle byproducts. Stale bread becomes a base for miso. Dehydrated onion scraps become powder for dusting dishes. Food trimmings are used to flavor shrubs, or drinking vinegar, with flavor for sodas and cocktails.

Hynam-Smith says he estimates Dispatch recycles around 90% of its waste.

For many customers, education is required to support these new models.

“We need guests to learn that less is more when it comes to eating,” says Hynam-Smith. “The Western world overindulges…too much food is being served and tossed in a bin.”

“It is not lost on us that we are just one small bar in Brooklyn,” says Chambers. “We must build strong partnerships, collaborations and engagement with our community and with similarly mission-driven businesses in order to create the global movement that we are manifesting.”

]]>It Might be Harder and More Expensive to Drink French Rosé This Springhttps://www.winemag.com/2020/05/05/best-french-rose-wine-available/
Tue, 05 May 2020 11:00:03 +0000https://www.winemag.com/?p=54029Getty

If you plan to toast the arrival of spring with a glass of French rosé, don’t be surprised if it’s a little more expensive than usual. The combination of tariffs and the global coronavirus pandemic have impacted retail supplies of 2019 French rosés.

“I’m having problems finding them,” says Jan Wilson, director of wine and spirits at The Hills Market, a locally owned grocery store in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.

“I just can’t get any,” agrees Molly Ringe, who runs a small wine store in Seattle.

Last October, the United State Trade Representative (USTR) levied a series of tariffs on certain European Union (E.U.) products. The tariffs were retaliation for E.U. subsidies to Airbus, a France-based aerospace and defense company. The U.S. believes these subsidies put its Boeing Company at a competitive disadvantage. A World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling in October agreed, allowing the U.S. to impose up to $7.5B in tariffs on E.U. goods.

Among a long list of items, a 25% tariff was levied on all still wines below 14% alcohol from France, Germany and Spain. Last December, the USTR also threatened a 100% tariff on these items. The USTR decided not to impose 100% tariffs in mid-February, but by then damage was done.

In the meantime, the coronavirus pandemic has upended exports from France and impacted the distribution chain in the U.S.

Michael Corso, a Chicago-based importer, said the potential 100% tariff froze his business in January and February. “We kind of suspected and hoped that they wouldn’t do it, but you also couldn’t take the chance that they might.”

French rosé is often sold via pre-sale starting in January, with the wine subsequently delivered once it has arrived in the U.S. Due to uncertainty about the tariffs and therefore the final cost, many delayed pre-sale offers.

“I think I’ve seen zero,” Daniel Posner, who owns Grapes The Wine Company, a retail store in White Plains, New York, said in early March. He would have typically seen at least 20 rosé pre-sales by then.

Veronica Lipinski Touzot owns Fine Terroir Selections, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based importer and distributor that specializes in French rosé. She says the seasonality of these wines made the delay devastating.

“In the U.S., it’s very important to get the rosé of that year and to get it as early as possible,” says Touzot.

Like many, she delayed bringing in wines until after the USTR’s decision in February, when it was announced the 25% tariffs would remain in place, but the uncertainty and delay had an impact, particularly given the subsequent outbreak of Covid-19.

“When my wines arrived in the states, no one wanted them anymore,” says Touzot. “One restaurant pre-ordered 200 cases and then said they would take 14. What do I do with the rest?”

Touzot pivoted by cancelling orders not already in transit.

“Everything that I could cancel, I cancelled,” she says. “But some wine was already on the water.”

As a result of the tariffs and the outbreak, Touzot’s business is down 50%. She had already laid off one employee due to the tariffs and has subsequently laid off more, while reducing salary for others. She has a warehouse full of rosé she is unable to sell, due to closed restaurants and retailers dealing with a changed landscape.

“I am sitting on so much inventory,” says Touzot. “I will probably have enough rosé for two years, and then no one wants the rosé from the year before. Most of my wines are hand sold, and no one goes to the store right now.”

In addition to the uncertainty about the tariffs, a dock workers strike in France earlier this year also contributed to delays on orders. Then coronavirus led to a shortage of shipping containers.

Thus far, importers, distributors and retailers have taken a variety of approaches to mitigating the tariffs for rosés and other affected wines. Many have reduced margins and have asked their producers to do the same to minimize costs passed on to consumers.

“We determined that consumers are really price loyal, probably even more so than brand loyal [for rosé],” says Ricardo Castiblanco, a partner in Skin Contact Wines, a New York City-based importer that focuses on organic wines. He worked with his suppliers to reduce margins to lessen the impact of the tariff.

“Instead of 25%, we can go up 10%,” says Castiblanco. “The consumer might reach for that bottle of wine if it only costs them a dollar more.” Castiblanco is also bringing in less stock to avoid paying a large sum in tariffs up front.

Importer and distributor Vintus, the exclusive U.S. importer of Château Minuty, one of the leading producers of Provencal rosé, took a different approach. Due to concerns about a potential tariff increase, Vintus rushed to bring wines in before the February announcement, paying close to $1 million in tariffs for the privilege.

“That’s all up front, all before we even sell a bottle,” says Alexander Michas, chief operating officer for Vintus, who notes it’s something small or mid-sized companies could not afford.

The outbreak has only added to the impact on the wine industry. Posner’s store has remained open, but only for curbside pickup and delivery. While sales volume is up, dollars are down 30–35% from the previous year.

“We’re sending out full trucks every day. It’s just the amount of dollars in the truck is significantly less than it normally is,” says Posner. “But I’m not complaining.”

Overall, due to the tariffs and the outbreak, consumers should expect that less product will be available, that French rosés will arrive later than usual, and that, in many cases, they will be more expensive.

However, they can also expect a surfeit of closeout, 2018 French rosés.

“There’s still a ton of ‘18 rose in the pipeline,” says Posner. “A surprising amount.”

The tariffs are on a rotating carousel, where they could be increased or decreased every 180 days. The next review period is in August, putting it directly in front of the October-November-December sales cycle. This means another period of uncertainty for the wine industry awaits.

“How do we plan for next year?” asks Michas. “These sacrifices are so enormous. Are they ones that we can continue to make? I don’t know.”

Touzot says the one-two punch of the tariffs and the outbreak have created an existential crisis for her business. After the outbreak, the government gave importers 90 days to pay the tariffs. But they still must be paid.

“Basically, what I can pay today is my employees, the ones I kept. I can pay my rent. Then what I have to pay is the duties. How about they at least take these 25% duties off? If the situation doesn’t get better soon, it’s going to be very, very tough to survive.”

We hear a lot about the many clones of Pinot Noir. We even see some of their names, like Pommard, Wädenswil and 777, listed proudly on wine labels. But there’s also an array of Chardonnay clones in use worldwide.

The world’s most popular white wine, Chardonnay is the progeny of regal Pinot Noir and lesser-known Gouais Blanc. Given the breadth of Chardonnay plantings, it makes sense that the grape’s clones thrive from Champagne to California to Western Australia.

Along with site and climate, these clones play a role in creating the style of Chardonnay in your glass, from full-bodied Napa Valley wines to racy, lean Chablis.

Understanding Clones

Grape clones are cuttings taken from a single vine that have identical genetic material to their parent source. They can be useful when growers want to cultivate a specific trait or group of traits, like productivity, berry size or acid retention. Climate, soil and other factors determine the success that a particular clone will achieve in a specific location.

These clones share certain similarities to field selections, or what the French call selection massale (massal selection), where a group of plants from a vineyard are cut after harvest and propagated. Ultimately, however, the two diverge.

“There’s inherent genetic variability [with field selections] because you have all those different plants, and they didn’t all come from a single source,” says David Ramey, founder/winemaker at Ramey Wine Cellars, one of California’s premier Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producers.

In the U.S., grape clones are propagated by places like Foundation Plant Services (FPS) at University of California, Davis. Established in 1958 to distribute clean (disease-free) plant material, FPS maintains more than 80 Chardonnay clones, identified by number.

Those names can get confusing, though. Some clones numbered by FPS might have had different numbers before they were heat-treated. Others are referred to colloquially by the producers they originally came from, like the Martini clone, taken from Louis Martini’s vineyard in Carneros, California, or the Robert Young clone, which came from a vineyard of the same name in Alexander Valley.

“In California, you’ve got Clone 4, which as I understand it, used to be 108, which is a selection from Louis Martini’s Carneros vineyard,” says Ramey.

So, some might call this Clone 4, while others might say Clone 108—and it might actually be 108, if it were planted prior to being heat-treated. Others could refer to it as the Martini clone, which could be clones 4, 108, or even 5 and 6. Got it?

Chardonnay Clones in France

In Burgundy, Chardonnay’s ancestral home, clones 76 and 95 are most prevalent, according to Christophe Deola, director at famed producer Louis Latour in Beaune.

Deola’s team works with a wide variety of other clones, as well as massal selections. These clones can have differences in productivity, sugar content and other factors. How productive a clone will be can contribute to its overall ripeness in a particular region.

For example, clones that set more tons per acre will require a warmer climate with more heat units to ripen the fruit. The opposite is true of clones that set smaller crops levels.

“The clones that produce less are logically ripening faster,” says Deola. He says such clones that he works with in Burgundy are 1066, 548 and 1067. “Those produce rich wines with a high, dry extract. They need to be combined with some 76, 95 and 96 to add freshness and tension.”

In Champagne, with its considerably cooler climate and dedication to sparkling wines, winemakers generally use different clones.

“By and large, what Champagne plants is larger-production clones that keep the inherent fruitiness and richness at bay because they don’t really want it,” says David Adelsheim, founder of Adelsheim Vineyard in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Vineyard in Margaret River / Getty

New World Chardonnay Clones

As he interned in Burgundy in the summer of 1974, Adelsheim noticed the area’s Chardonnay clones ripened at the same time as its Pinot Noir. This occurred several weeks earlier than back home in Willamette.

Inspired, Adelsheim worked with others to bring these clones into the U.S., where they became known as the “Dijon clones,” as they came from the Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins in Dijon, France.

Of those imports, Adelsheim says clones 76 and 95 are now by far the most planted in Oregon.

“[Clones] 76 and 95 both make full-bodied, intensely flavored, relatively low crop-level Chardonnay,” he says, in places like Willamette Valley.

Many winemakers in Chile work with a similar set of clones as Oregon and Burgundy. Historically, however, the Mendoza clone was the most common and is still widely planted today.

“[The Mendoza clone is] a clone of Chardonnay where the size of the clusters is not big,” says Marcelo Papa, chief winemaker at Concha y Toro, one of Chile’s largest labels. “It could be good quality, but not for big production.”

In the 1990s, clones 76, 95 and 548 became more prevalent in Chile. Others, like clones 4 and 5, were relegated largely to higher-production wines.

“We like 548 and 95,” says Papa. “I think that there is more fruit character than the Mendoza clone. Clone 548, it has a very nice precision in the nose in terms of austerity. You can get a very nice mouthfeel.”

Another Chardonnay clone, GinGin, thrives in cool-climate Western Australia. Its origins are unknown, but some of its resulting wines from Margaret River are considered among the world’s best.

“One of the main features of [GinGin] is it has millerandage, or ‘hen and chick,’ ” says Virginia Wilcox, winemaker at Vasse Felix, of its irregularly sized fruit.

While some winemakers think there’s a virus infection in GinGin that causes millerandage, Wilcox doesn’t care. She believes it results in high-quality wines.

“You get a lovely sense of phenolic tension coming with that clone,” she says. “We get a lot of power to the fruit and flavor in the wine. We think that the clone is a perfect match for the Margaret River climate.”

Meanwhile, California, with a much warmer climate, has an abundance of what’s referred to as the Wente clone. Or, more correctly, the Wente selection.

Wente is not a single clone, but rather a series of field selections. Some were imported in the late 1800s and early 1990s from France and propagated at Wente Vineyards and elsewhere. These are collectively referred to as “Old Wente.” Others are versions of these same clones that were heat treated by UC-Davis to eliminate viruses.

“There’s a lot of variations of Wente,” says Ramey. “I have a slight preference for a good Old Wente selection. You have a small cluster, and you have lower yield.”

Clone 4 is also popular in California. It has high acid, high sugar and high yield. These allow it to ripen more slowly in warmer regions, hanging higher tonnage and retaining acidity.

Site selection, however, is critical.

“You plant Clone 4 on very vigorous soil, you’re going to have football-sized clusters,” says Ramey. “But if you plant it on a site that’s poor in organic material and better drained with a little gravel, you can make a very nice wine.”

Do Clones Matter?

Even as they carefully select and cultivate their Chardonnay clones, many winemakers point out the numerous other factors that affect what grows well and where.

Ramey says clones are important, but they’re “not the overarching factor in quality by any way you look at it, which would be climate.” Rather, he says, think about clones as equally important to other vineyard design criteria, like rootstock, spacing, trellising and canopy management.

Concho y Toro’s Papa says that site trumps all. “For me, much, much more important than the clone is the place. Ten to 1.”

Papa also stresses the significance of rootstock, since winemakers often graft grapevines onto it to help resist various pests and diseases.

“If you give me five good clones of Chardonnay—76, 95, 548, a massale selection, whatever you choose . . . I will choose the rootstock,” he says.

Why? Because of the way rootstock interacts with the soil.

“For many, many years we’ve been looking at the climate, which is important,” says Papa. “We’ve been looking at the clonal material, but we forget the vase. The vase is in the soil.”

Perhaps one day, like clones, rootstock names will be proclaimed on a wine label near you.

Long the quietest member of the Champagne blend, Pinot Meunier is charming, character-filled and finally coming into its own.

It’s the historically disregarded third grape of a Champagne blend, obscured by Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the variety Grandes Marques producers only reluctantly admit to using.

But now, along the length of the Marne Valley, from Épernay west toward Château-Thierry, Pinot Meunier (or just Meunier, as producers call it) makes remarkable Champagnes with a character and quality all its own. It’s the Cinderella grape that’s beginning to reveal itself in all its beauty.

“Meunier can give wines that are so fresh, with a winning combination of fruit and minerality,” says Fanny Heucq, joint manager with her father, André, of Champagne André Heucq in Cuisles. “At its best, it can produce Champagnes that have fruity complexity, peaches, green apples along with this tension.”

With more of these quality Meunier-driven bottlings coming from growers, they want the world to know. Read on to learn more about how this oft-overlooked grape made its way to the spotlight.

The Horse-Drawn Problem

In the past, when horses pulled the wagons carrying grapes, one problem for big producers in Épernay and Reims was the distance from Meunier vineyards.

“It was too far to avoid problems with grape damage,” says Eric Taillet of Champagne Eric Taillet in Baslieux-sous-Châtillon and founder of the Meunier Institut. “People in the grand cellars thought little of the Meunier, even though they had to use it to make up quantity in the blend.”

Now, perhaps due to climate change, Meunier’s virtues overcome prejudice. This is largely thanks to the emergence of its Marne Valley growers. Historically, they sold their fruit to the Champagne houses, but now they’ve found the confidence to make their own Champagnes, which show Meunier’s true colors.

It’s finally possible to put Meunier-only or Meunier-dominant Champagnes in your glass. And they’re worth the effort to seek out.

“People in the grand cellars thought little of the Meunier, even though they had to use it to make up quantity in the blend.” –Eric Taillet, founder, Meunier Institut and Champagne Eric Taillet

Gosset is an unlikely source, a house that specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. However, in 2007, as its cellarmaster, Odilon de Varine, tasted the new wines, he found a batch of Meunier from vineyards around Épernay that, “had impressive elegance and finesse,” he says. “I decided it would be interesting to turn this batch into a 100% Meunier wine.”

And so, Gosset produced 5,000 bottles of 2007 Grand Blanc de Meunier; the vintage was released in 2018.

The wine broke many Meunier myths. After 12 years, it was still fresh and aromatic, just touched with honey, dispelling common wisdom that Meunier cannot age.

It also had a complex, dense texture that started with fruit and ended with minerality. Another legend gone: that Meunier only makes simple Champagnes.

Gosset Meunier was a one-off, but it’s an inspiration for great lovers of Champagne.

In Search of the Marne’s Meunier

Épernay, the self-proclaimed capital of Champagne, is at the focal point of the three traditional Champagne vineyards. To the southeast, the chalk slopes of the Côte des Blancs are home to great Chardonnays. To the north, the bulk of the Montagne de Reims, which has forest on the summit and vineyards on its slopes, produces great Pinot Noir.

The Marne Valley stretches to the west of Épernay. Its vineyards follow the Marne river from the city, beyond Château-Thierry, 30 miles away. Only 60 miles away sits Central Paris.

This is Meunier’s natural home, where the grape shows its true colors. It likes the mix of clay and chalk slopes along the Marne as it winds lazily toward its confluence with the Seine on the edge of Paris. Side valleys, the Belval and the Flagot, add to the array of exposures and slopes that inspire the vineyards.

The region is cooler than the Côte des Blancs and the Montagne de Reims, with a disposition for damaging spring frosts. Meunier, which starts its spring cycle late, is less likely to be affected.

There’s dynamism in these vineyards and the string of villages that lie along the valleys. Just as growers elsewhere in Champagne have made their own mark with family brands, so have those based here.

In Cerseuil, Jérôme Dehours, of Champagne Dehours et Fils, is one of them. A man of many words, he’s passionate about Meunier and has 40 tiny parcels clustered around his cellar.

He talks about the need to handle Meunier carefully. “Meunier is the most difficult grape in Champagne to work, but when it is treated correctly, it can give beautiful Champagnes,” he says.

His Terre de Meunier, a nonvintage from several of his parcels, is an explosion of floral aromas and white fruits, along with a finely balanced, taught texture. Like many Meunier Champagnes, the fruit is there at the start, while the minerality comes in subtly at the end.

Drilling Down into Meunier Land

Dehours has started to produce single-parcel wines in small quantities, like his Genevraux and La Croix Joly. This is the next logical step in the celebration of Meunier: to bring the grape and the terroir together in one bottle.

Heucq, in her series of parcel wines, Hommage Parcellaire, is another example. The grapes are grown biodynamically, which gives intensity and concentration that reinforces her conviction that Meunier can “make a great wine.”

Meuniers to Try

These grower Champagnes can be hard to come by stateside, so keep an eye out for these bottles.

Daniel Falala, director of the H. Blin cooperative in Vincelles, follows that conviction, but with a twist. He talks more about villages and crus, rather than parcels, to emphasize the quality of certain places over others. He believes Vincelles, with its semicircular slope of vineyards, makes great Meunier Champagnes.

“All our grapes come from a radius of three miles,” he says. “That gives our Champagnes a distinctive taste and consistency.”

The idea of distinct villages in the Marne Valley is new, he believes.

“Before it was just the Marne Valley, without any differentiation,” says Falala. “Now we can identify individual villages characters. Vincelles is on the north bank of the Marne with its floral, fruity wines that have great freshness. Jérôme Dehours’s village of Cerseuil, on the cooler south bank, produces wines that have greater finesse and lightness.”

Villages and individual parcels are two ways to tell the world that Meunier is as much a grape of terroir as Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. You can find variations in fruitiness, texture and tension depending on where the grape is planted, its exposure and how high up the slope the vines are planted.

If you tell a Meunier grower that this is all very Burgundian, he or she will thank you. Then they will walk to two tanks and point out that these two very different wines came from parcels that sit just a short distance apart.

That’s exactly what happened with Alexandre Salmon, at Champagne Salmon in Chaumuzy, just out of the Marne Valley proper. As he tastes vins clairs, or young wines, that just finished their first fermentation and weren’t yet bottled, he points to the vineyards.

“One is just behind the house, the other is over there behind those trees,” he says.

The differences were obvious. One was full and round in character, the other floral and crisp, the distance between the vines only a matter of yards.

The epoch of Meunier as just the third workhorse grape in Champagne is over. Now is the time to search out wines from these producers and many others and give the variety its rightful, equal and distinctive place in the firmament of Champagne.

Whether on a bagel with cream cheese, blended into a creamy spread of its own, served with scrambled eggs, tossed into a salad or just piled on a snack platter in generous ribbons, lox always brings intense flavor to the table.

Traditional lox is salmon belly that’s been salt-cured, but not smoked, while Nova smoked salmon (sometimes called “Nova lox”) is salmon that’s cold-smoked after it’s cured.

Whatever style you prefer—and all are essentially interchangeable—there are several directions to choose from when it comes to wine.

Briny

The bright citrus and saline notes of Albariño are always good with seafood, and they’re an especially refreshing match for the deep briny character of lox. Pro tip: Sip it with lox and honeydew, which will bring out the wine’s subtle melon notes.

Herby

Play up the fresh dill flavors in gravlax with Chardonnay aged in American oak. The variety of wood lends hints of dill that aren’t present in French oak, while the wine has the body to stand up to this most flavorful cured-salmon style.

Silky

In terms of mouthfeel, the curing process leaches liquid from the fish, which concentrates its natural oils and lends a silky, almost buttery texture. Pinot Noir has similar sensations, and its tannins help cut through the fat.

Smoky

Reach for a Pouilly-Fumé, which is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley. Its gun-flint aroma will marry well with the salmon’s smoky note, while it also has crisp acidity to combat the richness of lox.

Petite Sirah is the black sheep of California wines that never broke out into mass popularity on its own. Simultaneously, it’s well loved by winemakers and beef eaters for its awesomely dark color, its plump blueberry and dark chocolate flavors, and its notoriously thick texture.

Botanist François Durif created the grape in France during the late 19th century with seeds from Peloursin and pollen from an unknown source. It became known as Durif in his honor. California growers began planting it in the 1880s and used the name Petite Sirah to refer to Durif and other dark-skinned grape varieties including Syrah and Zinfandel.

The diminutive was not far off the mark, as it turned out. DNA fingerprinting at the University of California, Davis, during the 1990s confirmed that Durif had been derived from Peloursin pollinated by Syrah.

California winemakers have long respected the grape as a blending partner with Zinfandel—where it provides a framework of firm, dense tannins to support the Zin’s rich fruit notes—as well as other red varieties. While not at all a petite wine, Petite Sirah isn’t always a tannic monster, either.

The five winemakers featured here have proven this point in recent vintages with rich but comfortably polished wines.

Theodora Lee

Theopolis Vineyards

Theodora Lee didn’t plan to have a wine label. The hard-driving trial lawyer, who was living in San Francisco, simply wanted to find a quiet weekend retreat in Northern California wine country.

But a great vineyard site for Petite Sirah and a rainy vintage transformed her into “Theopatra, Queen of the Vineyards,” and the owner of Theopolis wines. Both names stem from her college sorority sobriquet of Theopolis, and they capture her colorful, expansive personality.

A Texan who learned to drive a tractor at age eight on her grandfather’s farm, she bought a rolling property in the Yorkville Highlands of Mendocino County and established a five-acre vineyard in 2003. Though originally split between Petite Sirah and Zinfandel, it’s now virtually all Petite Sirah.

Initially, she sold all her grapes to producers like Carlisle and Halcón Vineyards for use in their well-reviewed Petite Sirahs. But during the wet 2012 harvest, her major buyer refused the fruit, claiming it hadn’t reached the contracted ripeness level. Rather than letting the grapes rot, Lee found winemakers to custom crush.

Two years later, the wine was bottled and adorned with her own label, which has an ancient Egyptian motif. Most recently, her 2017 vintage goes beyond Petite Syrah’s typical blueberry and chocolate tones into savory, singed-rosemary aromas and complex peppery flavors.

While she’s still not a hands-on winemaker, Lee’s the sole salesperson. She lugs three suitcases on law firm–related business trips. The first is full of clothes, and the other two are packed with bottles to pour at wine dinners.

“It’s been wonderful,” she says. “I couldn’t ask for a better complementary lifestyle. Obviously, I don’t make my living making wine, but it is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

Martha Barra / Photo by Jessica Chou

Martha Barra

Barra of Mendocino

Petite Sirah flourished in Mendocino long before the Barras began to grow it, but what this Italian-American family is able to capture in its wines is a near-perfect match between grape and terroir.

As the owner, manager and approver of final blends for the label, Barra continues the work begun by her late husband, Charlie Barra. In 1955, he bought 175 acres of grapes, which has since expanded to more than 300 acres.

For their first vintage as a winery in 1997, Mendocino pioneer John Parducci made the wines. Barra recalls his advice.

“He talked about mouthfeel and balance, how it comes down to those two things,” she says. “No one likes to taste or drink a Petite Sirah that sets your teeth on edge. That’s where the barrel aging in 30% new French oak comes in, and not releasing the wine before its time.”

The Barra of Mendocino Petite Sirah earned high scores for its 2016 and 2017 vintages with deep, dark fruit flavors and creamy texture. Barra credits the Bella Collina Vineyard, perched 1,000 feet above the Ukiah Valley floor with a south-to-southwest exposure. It stays warm enough in the cold winters for orange trees to share the site.

Staff tastings identify the Bella Collina lots as the best Petite Sirah from their properties, says Barra. It’s separated out to make a few hundred precious cases of the estate-grown varietal wine. The vineyard has been certified as organic for almost 20 years. It’s irrigated lightly and able to provide good ripeness without extreme alcohol. The family also grows Petite Sirah in other sites, but Winemaker Randy Meyer uses those lots to blend in with Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Jorden Mingle / Photo by Jessica Chou

Jorden Mingle

Miraflores Winery

In an informal tasting of aged Petite Sirahs from the Sierra Foothills, the Miraflores 2010 stands with the best. It’s complex, dense with fruit and complete in composition.

“That 2010 is so lively,” says Mingle, production manager for Miraflores. “It’s a fun one for us in the winery to see how it develops. I love drinking our Petite anywhere from four years on. I like a little freshness still in the fruit, and to see the tannins coming along nicely. The 2010 is hitting a real nice sweet spot now.”

In 1998, the Miraflores property was purchased by Victor Alvarez, a Colombian physician. Foreseeing a few acres of vines and a small cellar, he officially founded the winery in 2003.

Today, there are around 45 estate acres and an elegant tasting room.

“I love drinking our Petite anywhere from four years on. I like a little freshness still in the fruit, and to see the tannins coming along nicely.” –Jorden Mingle, production manager, Miraflores Winery

“This is a great place to be making wine,” says Mingle. “The keys are well-drained granitic soil, our estate vineyard’s elevation above 2,450 feet [and the] cool nights and hot days. The Foothills have quality fruit and quality people.”

Mingle grew up in the Sierra Foothills, his mother with Spanish and Mexican roots and father who was raised in Germany. He attended University of California, Santa Barbara, then headed back to the hills.

He joined Miraflores in 2017 after eight years of experience at Lava Cap Winery, where he trained under winemakers Tom Jones (now Iron Hub) and Joe Norman (previously Heitz Wine Cellars), and now continues to learn from veteran Marco Capelli, who is a consulting winemaker for the estate.

Mingle was pleased to see how that 2010 Miraflores bottling compared to wines from more experienced winemakers in El Dorado County, like a beefy, fresh-textured 1997 from Greg Boeger and a spicy, youthful 2002 from Jonathan Lachs at Cedarville. If this is the direction that his current release, a 2016 estate wine, is heading, then it’s going the right way.

Joseph Smith / Photo by Jessica Chou

Joseph Smith

Klinker Brick Winery

It’s not uncommon for a California winemaker to hail from France or Australia. But Klinker Brick Winery in Lodi found someone from Belize.

Smith, who makes smoky, opulent Petite Sirah and a handful of other wines for the brand, moved to California in the late 1990s and worked in construction. By chance, he found a job with Gnekow Family Wines that eventually led to winemaking there.

“Before I went there, I had never had a glass of wine in my life, so it was quite a journey for me,” he says.

The Felten family, owners of Klinker Brick, hired Smith in 2008 after he had worked stints with Hahn Family Wines and Michael David Winery. Now, Smith owns or partners in other brands that he makes, like Concrete Wine Company and a wine distribution business in Belize.

“Let’s make that vineyard as a Petite Sirah, not a blender. It can make one that we can actually pair with food and can be drunk by itself.” –Joseph Smith, winemaker, Klinker Brick Winery

Smith had blended some Petite Sirah into Klinker Brick’s Syrah, but he wanted to see what else it could do. He was focused on Antoinette Celle Vineyard, a small plot with rocky, clay soil, rather than the usual sand, to form the core of a varietal wine.

“I said to Steve Felten, ‘Let’s make that vineyard as a Petite Sirah, not a blender. It can make one that we can actually pair with food and can be drunk by itself,’ ” says Smith.

It took some work to bring the struggling, dry-farmed vines back into shape. Soon, however, the well-balanced Celle fruit accounted for 75% of the Petite Sirah, bolstered by 25% of riper grapes from Jessie’s Grove vineyards.

The current 2016 vintage is hardly shy. It’s jammed with black pepper and blackberry and is big in structure.

Smith loves the reactions it gets in Klinker Brick’s tasting room.

“Guys would come in and you would see the expression on their faces,” he says. “They’d be surprised that it wasn’t as bold and as bad as people made it sound. They’d say, ‘Honey, try this. You’re going to like it.’ ”

Adam Mettler / Photo by Jessica Chou

Adam Mettler

Michael David Winery and Mettler Family Vineyards

Adam Mettler makes outstanding Petite Sirahs for three brands based in Lodi: Petite Petit and Earthquake for Michael David Winery, where he’s director of winemaking, and Mettler Family Vineyards, where he’s co-owner and winemaker.

The cartoony, technicolor Petite Petit label blends some Petit Verdot into the Petite Sirah. It makes a huge visual contrast with the quiet, traditional Mettler Family bottle, but the winemaking approach is pretty similar, says Mettler.

“What the good aspects are when you’re building up another wine to the next structure level, are not what we want for the Petite Sirah.” –Adam Mettler, winemaker, Michael David Winery and Mettler Family Vineyards

The fifth-generation Lodi grape grower harvests ripe grapes that often yield wines at least 15% alcohol by volume (abv). He does a warm fermentation with lots of pumpovers for maximum color and tannin extraction, then ages the wines in French oak barrels, 30–40% of them new, for 14–18 months.

While Zinfandel likes American oak, Mettler says Petite Sirah is a better match with more subtly spicy French barrels. The effect is evident in the Mettler Family 2017 Petite, which fills out its firmly tannic frame with the French oak spice cabinet and plump blackberries.

Winemakers have long blended dark, densely tannic Petite into Zinfandel. Mettler, honored as Wine Enthusiast’s Winemaker of the Year in 2018, is one of them.

“But what the good aspects are when you’re building up another wine to the next structure level, are not what we want for the Petite Sirah program,” he says. He looks for grapes that give a somewhat softer, juicier, fruitier flavor.

“Personally, I like the variety a lot, the bigness, the plushness,” he says.

Customer reactions to the wine are strong, too. “It’s always intriguing to people. They see that dark color, they taste it and people tend to like everything about it. The reason it’s doing so well for us is because people go back and get it.”

While many associate red wine with heavy, rich, full-bodied pours perfect for winter nights, winemakers are increasingly drawn toward crafting lighter reds that remain uplifting and fresh enough for warmer days. As spring sets on us and summer nears, now is the time to dabble in the world of chillable red wine.

Lighter-bodied red wines are typically high in acidity and low in tannins. This can include those made from thin-skinned grapes like Pinot Noir and Gamay, but can also include offerings produced using carbonic maceration. This winemaking technique causes reds to explode with fruity aromas and a velvety smooth texture.

Here is a selection of reds that deserve a spot in your refrigerator. They drink best with about an hour of chill. If you happen to leave them in the fridge longer, let the wine warm a bit so it opens up (about 54–60°F, for those keeping track). From Californian Cinsault to Austrian Zweigelt and even Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes, these are perfect for anyone who needs an extra bit of refreshment for the warmer seasons ahead.

Thacher 2018 Glenrose Vineyard Cinsault (Adelaida District); $36, 92 points. This is an extremely fresh and zesty bottling, quite good chilled as well. It’s a shade darker than rosé in the glass, and offers crunchy aromas of crisp red currant, hibiscus, fruit punch, sumac and cinnamon. The palate is zippy with acidity and lively with white-pepper spice that lifts up the cranberry, rose-petal and blood-orange-rind flavors. Editors’ Choice. –Matt Kettmann

Day 2016 Running Bare Mae’s Vineyard Red (Applegate Valley); $33, 91 points. Sourced from Herb Quady’s vineyard, the blend consists of 50% Cabernet Franc and one-quarter each Tannat and Malbec. It offers red and black berries, with a whiff of leather, while the acidity contributes a streak of pineapple. The tannins are polished and bring a hint of wild herbs. As with all of Brianne Day’s wines, this does not shy away from the wild side of wine, while offering exceptional grace notes and aromatics. –Paul Gregutt

Stolpman 2018 Grenache (Ballard Canyon); $36, 91 points. Crunchy red currant, carnations, rose petals and wet slate hint at some carbonic fermentation on the nose of this bottling. The palate falls in line as well, with refreshing red-fruit and red-rose-petal flavors that are crisp and zippy. –M.K.

Happs 2017 Pinot Noir (Margaret River); $25, 90 points. This Pinot starts off subdued, offering quiet scents of fresh strawberry, vanilla, dried green herbs and a little white-pepper spice. But give it time in glass and it opens dramatically, revealing much more heady, red-fruited and spicy aromas and an amaro-like herbal character. Fruit on the palate is ripe and juicy, backed by a soft savory line of tannins and crispy acidity. That amaro bitterness creeps in on the finish. Drink slightly chilled with summery cuisine. Little Peacock Imports. –Christina Pickard

Louis Jadot 2018 Beaujolais; $14, 90 points. The Beaune négociant house has produced a ripe and structured wine. It offers plenty of black-cherry flavors from the ripe Gamay as well as acidity and a touch of tannins. Enjoy now. Kobrand. Best Buy. –Roger Voss

Martin Woods 2018 Gamay Noir (Willamette Valley); $30, 90 points. Fermented partially by carbonic (whole berry) maceration, this spicy wine is loaded with red fruits and marked with sharp acidity. It’s full bodied and fresh, and should be consumed over the next couple of years. It finishes with a spot of lemon tea as it fades. –P.G.

Burlap, velvet, silk. The mention of these fabrics stirs a visceral reaction. You can imagine the rough, plush and slippery-soft textiles between your fingers. But what does texture mean in wine?

When a professional calls a wine silky or textural, they refer to its mouthfeel. There are several reasons texture in wine matters. For those who assess quality or seek to determine a wine’s identity in a blind tasting, texture offers clues as to how it was made, the conditions of the harvest and even the grape(s) used to make it. Texture also gives a wine dimension and complexity, so winemakers create different sensations through various techniques.

For a long time, texture was primarily the domain of reds, due to tannins. They derive from polyphenols released from a grape’s skins, seeds and stems, plus the oak used in the barrel that aged the wine. Red grape varieties have different levels and quality of tannin, which depend on the thickness of the skin, harvest conditions (rainy, dry, hot or cold) and ripeness at picking. Tannin informs the astringency and structure of the wine. Examples are silky Pinot Noir, plush Merlot and firm Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine regions now experience warmer temperatures during growing seasons, which diminishes acidity in grapes. Picking early helps retain freshness, but building texture is another tool to customize a wine’s character.

Winemakers can use tannins, maceration times and solids leftover from crush, like grape skins, stems and seeds, to build volume and mouthfeel. These techniques move away from the cleaner styles enabled by stainless steel, temperature-controlled fermentation and aggressive filtration.

Skin-contact wines, also called orange wines, are white wines fermented and aged on the skins. This allows a winemaker to play with tannin texture, as well as color and flavor. The same can be said of using clay amphorae and oak vessels to age wine. The choice of whether to fine, or filter out solids, can also create a huge impact on a red wine’s texture.

Other examples include whether to allow wine to remain on its yeast, or lees, during aging, which builds body and richness. Yeast consume sugars in the grapes to create alcohol, then die or go dormant after food resources are exhausted. Those residual particles create a creamy, rounded mouthfeel when stirred into the wine.

Wine importers started the year weary. Since last October, they have been caught in the middle of a battle between Boeing and Airbus, the world’s largest airline manufacturers. To pressure European leaders to stop subsidizing Airbus, the Trump administration tacked 25% tariffs onto French wines, among other goods, and then threatened 100% tariffs on all European wines.

Jenny Lefcourt, owner of the natural wine portfolio Jenny & Francois, stopped ordering wine, fearful that the second round of tariffs would bankrupt her business. But her outlook soon brightened. Owing to customers’ shared fears over increased costs, Jenny & Francois had a record January with a 50% increase in sales.

After intense lobbying efforts, a second round of tariffs was defeated and orders resumed—until three weeks later when restaurants across the country shut down due to the coronavirus. On-premise sales plummeted to near zero.

“It’s like being perpetually kicked in the gut,” says Dionysi Grevenitis, owner of DNS Wines, a boutique import business based in New York.

Importers of all sizes have taken a major hit from hollowed-out restaurant sales, but the landscape is more precarious for smaller importers, like those owned by Lefcourt and Grevenitis, whose portfolios skew heavily toward on-premise wines.

Placing paper over the windows of Carmelina’s, in the North End of Boston / Photo by David L. Ryan, The Boston Globe / Getty

Moving off on-premise wine

Despite looming tariffs, Jan D’Amore, owner of Jan D’Amore Wines, kept buying stock through January and February. Unfortunately, his portfolio was on the wrong side of a 70/30 split between on- and off-premise sales. “Now I’m stuck with a lot of wine, especially by-the-glass placements at restaurants,” he says.

Nationally, retail sales are booming. Nielsen reported that wine sales rose 66% the week of March 21, and online sales of all alcohol spiked 243%.

D’Amore has only seen a modest uptick.

In contrast, Frederick Wildman and Sons, known for its fine French wines, made a strategic move in 2019 to import mass-market Riunite. They’re now moving 1.5 million cases of Riunite a month, 95% of which is sold retail. President and COO Marc Hirten projected a 30% drop in sales after restaurants closed, but their numbers are only down 14%.

Terra Firma’s initial shipment of wines was on a boat in the Atlantic Ocean when the first round of tariffs went into effect…the federal government levied a tax bill that would have paid for a year and a half of their daughter’s tuition at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Another unexpected boost for Wildman came when Pennsylvania shut down all its state liquor stores. Desperate Pennsylvanians have been crossing the border to buy wine from stores in New Jersey, one of two states where Wildman is both an importer and distributor.

The biggest liability for large importers is overhead and payroll. Wildman had to lay off 20 sales people from its 165-person workforce, though they expect to hire them back after the crisis has abated.

“My hope and goal is to keep the whole team together through this,” says Lefcourt, who employs 10 people at Jenny & Francois. “I adore my team. It’s a bit of a challenge making sure that happens. We’re looking at a huge loss from restaurant revenue, having all this wine sold to restaurants in March that they can’t pay for. I don’t know if some of that will eventually come back in or if it’s going to a total loss.”

Even as some states have allowed restaurants to sell wines to-go, most are working through inventory meant for by-the-glass sales, and are now competing with retailers. Revenue from those sales is going toward paying staff or other unnegotiable costs.

“Some people have said they can’t repay us until they reopen,” says Hirten. “Others have been paying but postmarking the check for later. There aren’t a lot of delayed payments now because no one is buying anything.”

The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program comes up short / Photo by Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg / Getty

Federal help is slow to come, if at all

Hoping to shore up cash flow and pay their employees, several of the importers we spoke to applied for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding. None received it in the first round. Along with restaurant owners across the country, they have watched government relief funds awarded to not-so-small businesses like Ruth’s Chris, Shake Shack and Pollo Tropical. Some of the companies have since pledged to return funds after an intense public backlash.

Kristen Talley, who owns Bay Area-based Terra Firma with her husband Ted Talley, planned on using $50,000 in PPP funding to bring her two-person sales team onto payroll rather than have them rely on uncertain commissions. She filled out an interest form with Wells Fargo 15 minutes after it was posted online. After two weeks of misformation and multiple website and form crashes, Kristen finally got in an application only to miss out on funds entirely.

“We seem to be really good at bad timing,” she says.

The Talleys operated as a distributor for 16 years before they converted Terra Firma to an import business last year. Their initial shipment of French wines was on a boat in the Atlantic Ocean when the first round of tariffs went into effect, and the federal government levied a tax bill on the wines that would have paid for a year and a half of their daughter’s tuition at University of California, Santa Barbara.

“Instead of giving us loans, just cancel the tariff, and we’ll have more money to pay people.” –Jenny Lefcourt, owner, Jenny & Francois Selections

Terra Firma’s wines didn’t arrive until the fourth quarter of 2019.

“If we had only a few more months under our belt…we needed time to introduce the portfolio,” says Ted. “Where we have placements with retailers, they’re reordering, but retail sales haven’t gone up for us. Our lower-end wines, at $240 a case, those are selling just fine. The wines that are $400, $500, or $800 per case, well, those are aging gracefully.”

It’s the esoteric bottles, the gems that sommeliers fall in love with and have to hand-sell to diners, that importers are struggling to move through the retail market.

The Talleys are experimenting with direct to consumer sales through a collaboration with The Taste Edit and Ceri Smith, a sommelier who owns the San Francisco bottle shop Biondivino.

“In the beginning, we joked that we got the direct to consumer permit just so we could sell directly to my dad,” says Kristen. “But like everybody, we’re exploring what we can do to keep our company alive.”

Shipping containers awaiting export / Getty

Can importers adapt to a changing market?

In the short-term, importing isn’t suited to the types of grand pivots that restaurants and other businesses have made during the crisis. Strategies have shifted, yes. More wines are being funneled into the retail space. But the general consensus is work, wait and see.

“I’m just bobbing around in an ocean. There’s no pivot,” says Grevenitis. “I wind up taking a few orders each day. I process the orders. I watch my bottom line and cash flow. You do the best you can.”

Similarly, winemakers continue to work in their vineyards, pruning and tending vines that are oblivious to the coronavirus. Winemakers Chiara Penati and Michele Conoscente from Oltretorrente in Paderna, Italy, sent a note to buyers, including the Talleys, about the shoots of new Timorasso vines emerging from the soil and grass to be weeded from rows—but also about big equipment purchases they made before the crisis, land they planned to purchase but cannot, and grandparents who will sit out harvest this year.

The pain is especially acute for small producers. Lefcourt buys from a rosé producer who can’t get anyone to help her bottle wine. Other winemakers, who drive cases to Paris’s wine bars and restaurants, have seen sales completely dry up. “They’re nervous, asking us if we can order wine,” says Lefcourt.

Grevenitis works with a Greek producer who buys bottles from Italy and crown caps from France. “The supply chain is broken,” he says. “It’s difficult to access raw materials, and then there’s the issue of getting labels printed and sent to the winery. All these things will create delays.”

Highly allocated and high-volume wines face fewer hurdles. Consumers can be confident Zachys will have super Tuscans, and Trader Joe’s won’t run out of $9.99 Pinot Grigio anytime soon.

“The orders I have going out are sitting in port. There aren’t enough containers being filled and not enough ships coming to the United States.” –Jan D’Amore, owner, Jan D’Amore Wines

One universal pain point is that cargo and freight costs have risen as demand has gone down. While Wildman, Winebow and Southern Glazer’s can easily fill whole containers at port, boutique importers must share.

“The orders I have going out are sitting in port. There aren’t enough containers being filled and not enough ships coming to the United States,” says D’Amore. “Normally in April, I need a constant flow of stock. But there’s so little movement of quantity, now I can live without wine for a month.”

On the bright side, highly allocated wines that diners could only purchase at restaurants will be available in greater quantities in stores. Lefcourt also says that if consumers continue to buy the wines they love, regardless of where and how they are purchased, importers can continue to bring them into the U.S. while minimizing disruption to the supply chain.

However, there will be still delays and temporary shortages of wines from small producers in Europe. And since the coronavirus arrived later in the Southern Hemisphere than the Northern, effects on South America and its wine industry are still unknown.

Specific vintages also may be delayed.

“Now is the time for me to order new white wine releases,” says D’Amore. “We usually start buying six to eight months out. It’s going to have a domino effect. Wineries will be stuck with new releases, because no one has sold stock of the previous vintage.”

Anxiety over a loss of premiumization

Another fear is that lasting financial woes will push consumers toward less expensive wines, as they did in 2008.

“Over a period of time, people buying $30 traded down to $20 and then the mid-teens,” says Grevenitis. “Inexpensive, volumetric wines did better than more expensive wines. We don’t know how long it will take to reopen. We don’t know whether the virus will resurface in the fall, or how it will impact OND—October, November and December—when we do a significant portion of our business.”

That will make two years of uncertain OND for importers, though having adapted to the tariffs, the industry is better connected and organized than they were previously.

“Last fall, I was down with 10 competitors, marching around the halls of Washington,” says Hirten. “We were captured in this Boeing Airbus thing, and it was just so absurd. All of a sudden, we were able to work together.”

Hirten and Lefcourt were instrumental in helping defeat the 100% tariffs, and they say that the best relief the government could give to importers is to cancel the 25% tariff on French wines.

“Instead of giving us loans, just cancel the tariff, and we’ll have more money to pay people,” says Lefcourt.

If there’s any silver lining, it’s the community that has emerged through the crisis. Facebook groups created to help defeat the tariffs lit up with information about applying for federal coronavirus relief.

“I am waking up most days optimistic…3 am to 4 am is a different matter.” –Kristen Talley, co-owner, Terra Firma Wine Company

Lefcourt has turned to Instagram Live to connect with consumers and give sommeliers and winemakers a platform to talk about the bottles they love. The Jenny & Francois feed has featured Miguel de Leon from Pinch Chinese, Hardy Wallace from Dirty & Rowdy and James Jelks, whose Florèz Wines Lefcourt just added to her portfolio.

The Talleys have been pleasantly surprised by the number of payments that keep flowing in. “I think it’s partly because when people look at us, they think, ‘They’re the little guys,’ ” says Kristen. “Everyone in our immediate circle has shown integrity and passion—we’re all in this together. I am waking up most days optimistic…3 am to 4 am is a different matter. But we haven’t lost our sense of optimism.”

Wildman is connecting its staff with European winemakers in twice weekly trainings. They ship out bottles to all employees, and then have winemakers like Valentina and Davide Abbona, from Marchesi di Barolo, lead virtual tastings and winery tours.

“This period of time has created a huge opportunity to train our own organization on all our fine wines,” says Hirten. “It’s also a nice way for us all to connect. Your job is your second family. When you see everybody’s faces on the screen, it gives you a sense of connection.”

Wildman is working with restaurants and retailers to promote winemaker dinners for which meals and bottles are delivered to diners’ homes, and Hirten hopes to soon hire out-of-work sommeliers to write articles, reviews and tasting notes.

A hazy path forward for wine imports / Getty

An uncertain future

Importing has always been a business of relationships with wineries and vigerons on one side, and distributors, restaurants, and shops on the other. The wines that importers buy helps employ farmers, bottlers, boxers, truckers, salespeople, sommeliers, servers, receivers and captains. The chain of workers from a field in France to a cellar in New York City is intricate, and it’s currently broken.

The tempered good news is that wine can wait and most importers think they’ll be able to generate enough revenue in the next few months to survive.

“We must recalibrate and accept the fact that we’re not going to be a thriving business in 2020,” says D’Amore. “It’s enough to keep us going and to give us employment, but not the feeling like we’re on top of the world. We importers are still lucky to have a job. That’s the bottom line.”

Rosé season is upon us. The best way to transition into warmer weather is with a bottle from Provence, the French region that started the pink-wine craze.

Delightfully fruity, yet impeccably honed by crisp acidity (and sometimes tangy minerality), rosés from Provence are often considered the top in their category. While usually made from a mix of red grapes—the roster can include Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cinsault, Grenache and Mourvèdre—some bottlings can even include the white grape Vermentino, or Rolle, as it’s called locally.

Here are some of the top-scoring Provence rosés from across the region that are hitting shelves and online shops. Scoop them up and enjoy a bit of Provençal sunshine in a bottle.

Château Vignelaure 2019 Rosé (Coteau d’Aix-en-Provence); $22, 93 points. Produced from organic grapes, this ripe wine is well structured and richly elegant. It has depth and concentration as well as a touch of tannins from the Cabernet and Syrah in the blend. The wine is just ready to drink, although it will be better from late 2020. Monsieur Touton Selection Ltd. Editors’ Choice. –Roger Voss

Château des Bertrands 2019 Rosé (Côtes de Provence); $23, 92 points. This wine’s ripe strawberry flavors are still vibrant with youth. These will soften into a smoother, sophisticated structure, with great fruitiness and textured acidity. The wine has a delicious peppered red-fruit aftertaste. Drink from late 2020. Provence Rose Group. Editors’ Choice. –R.V.

Château Vannières 2017 La Patience Rosé (Bandol); $60, 92 points. Produced from selected parcels and aged in wood, this is a rosé for aging. After almost three years, the wine has become smooth and elegant, with smokiness as well as balanced acidity and spicy flavors. While the fruit is now subdued, the complexity of the wine has taken over. It is ready to drink. H. Mercer Wine & Spirits Imports. –R.V.

Hecht & Bannier 2019 Rosé (Côtes de Provence); $20, 90 points. A rich wine full of ripe raspberry flavors, this spicy blend includes Grenache and Cinsault along with a touch of white Vermentino. This full wine will develop over the next few months. Either drink now or wait until late 2020. Frederick Wildman & Sons Ltd. –R.V.